Me, Myself, and Reality
by JD11
Summary: Sam and Jack married? And with a son? When an alternate reality faces its destruction, Sam and Jack send their son through the quantum mirror and to our Sam and Jack. But why is he so special? SJ FINISHED! Epilogue up
1. Mirror, Mirror On the Wall

Author's Note: Wow! Look! I've finally gotten around to posting another story! Amazing!

But, anyway, I have a few things to say… um, well, uh…

There are a few spoilers in here. Nothing too major but you know, I was just being polite and mentioning them. Mainly it's for "There But For The Grace of God", "In the Line of Duty", "Into the Fire", "Point of View", "Double Jeopardy", and "Nightwalkers". If you haven't seen them, it could throw you off but they're not mandatory. I don't think any of the spoilers would ruin the ep but I guess it might depend on how much you already know. But that definably doesn't mean you can't read my story. So, please enjoy and R/R.

Summary: Sam and Jack married? And with a son? When an alternate reality faces its destruction, Sam and Jack send their son through the quantum mirror and to our Sam and Jack. But why is he so special? S/J; 

Rating: PG

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Me, Myself, and Reality

Chapter One:

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…

A fourteen-year-old sat patiently at his desk, waiting for the bell to sound. It was only two more minutes, then freedom from that particular class. Looking up to his left at the front of the room, his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, stood teaching about World War Two. 

Moving his eyes away from his Social Studies teacher, his blue eyes searched the room, looking at the other two rows of desks. In the first row right across from him sat Alyssa. She smiled back at him. Before turning her contact blue eyes back to their teacher, she ran a hand through her light blonde hair. 

With one more minute until he could leave the boring class, he shook his head, brushing his own shaggy, dirty blonde hair out of his eyes before he too turned back to watch her; his mind not away from Alyssa. The two had been dating seen the end of seventh grade, almost eight months. Both his parents like her and hers like him, it wasn't that bad off. 

Finally, the greatest sound to his ears reached him when the bell rang in its customary fashion. Grabbing his books, he took his time considering he wanted to walk with Alyssa and his next class was just across the hall. 

Picking everything up- two binders and two books- he stood his full height of 6'8" and waited for his girlfriend. Watching her stand, he knew everything was going good for him. Straight A's yet again, he still had his girlfriend, and he made the basketball team for the third year in a row. Yep, everything was going his way. 

Once Alyssa had caught up, the two walked out of the room and into the hall where their classmates for Math class were just allowed in. Walking in, Alyssa whispered to him, "Meet me after school. Ok?"

"Ok," he told her and walked to his own desk in the second to last row. Setting all but his math binder on the floor, he looked up at the board where the first problem of the day had been written. 

He wrote it down and thought about it for a moment but was stopped when his friend sat down next to him and asked, "Did you see what just pulled up?"

"What?" He asked back. 

"There's some black car that just pulled into the circle. I heard people say they saw two Air Force officers get out," his friend, Matt, told him, his voice strangely unnerved. 

His eyes watched him for a minute, his ears not even hearing the bell condemning him to that class. In his heart, he knew that could easily mean bad news for him. Bad news about his parents or one of them. 

At that moment, a loud knock was heard at the door and rang through his math teacher's words. She stopped and opened the door to reveal the two dreaded officers of the US Air Force. "Jesse O'Neill?" One of them called and he raised his hand shyly. 

"Come with us," the other barked at him. Jesse's eyes found his teacher's and she nodded her approval. Standing, he retrieved his books and followed the two officers out of his classroom. 

As he was escorted down the hall, he began to feel as if it stretched on forever. Millions of thoughts were running through his head, all of which he desperately wanted to ask the two men behind him. 

Looking over his shoulder, he looked at the first face he saw. The man's face was stone but, in his eyes, Jesse could see his pain and sorrow. Glancing quickly over the man's uniform, his eyes caught the shine of his nametag reading Major Davis. 

Looking back at the hall in front of him, he took a few last steps before stopping at his locker. Reaching out a shaking hand, he slowly spun the dial until he had enter in the correct code. Pulling open his locker, Jesse swallowed hard, attempting to push back the tears his bravado was franticly trying to keep hidden. The silence and urgency of the two officers escorting his was scarring him to point beyond understanding. 

Reaching for his backpack to shove in the few things he needed for homework, Davis pushed his hand away and stated, "You won't need that."

"But I have-" Jesse began but cut himself off when he saw the look of sincerity on the man's face. Dropping his hand, he slammed his locker closed and locked it back up, getting the feeling it would never matter again. 

Without another word, Jesse turned and walked with the other two back to the foyer where they could exit the building. Moving a few steps ahead of his guides, he pushed opened the door allowing the sunlight to shine on his skin. When he looked out at the circular parking lot, he could see a single black Cadillac and knew that it would be the car taking him wherever he was going. 

Once inside, Jesse closed the door after him and pulled his seatbelt on. Waiting silently in the car, he decided not to speak until the car engine was on and they were already on their way. The first words out of his mouth were:

"They're dead aren't they?" 

Playing dumb, Davis- who wasn't driving- asked, "Who, kid?"

"My parents. That's why you had to take me out of school."

The two officers looked at each other, thinking about what to tell him and what to leave out of their explanation. Looking out at the street, Davis explained, "Well, kid, your parents wanted us to come get you. They need to talk to you about something very important."

"It couldn't wait?"

"No." His answer was quick, too quick. Jesse looked back at the road. No, he didn't like it at all. 

**SGC**

The giant mountain Jesse's parents worked in was something he had seen many hundreds of times, just like everyone else who lived near. But, unlike those who worked there, Jesse had never had the privilege to walk inside the corridors or see anything that when on in there. Sure he had always been curious, wondering what went on, engaging and joining in on talks with his friends about the place. But he never got to see it…

Until now. Whatever it was he had been summoned for was fulfilling his wildest dreams. He would see the infamous mountain. It was something he thought would be all gold or something in his youth but had come to believe that there were aliens or something in there. But he had never been allowed to know. 

Once inside of the elevator, the tension seemed to mount but, at the same time, was relieved in some respect. It seemed to take forever before the machine stopped. Once it had, he was accompanied out of it and to a table. 

His guards walked up to it and seemed to sign their names. Once finished with that, the second guard- who had driven him- walked away with a quick nod in Davis' direction. But Davis, he handed his pen to Jesse and told him to sign his name where his finger was. 

Looking at the paper, there were tons of names, most he didn't recognize. But three he did. A Col. Jack O'Neill, Dr. Samantha O'Neill, and Dr. Daniel Jackson. Sighing, Jesse signed his name under Davis' and placed the pen on the table. 

After doing that, Davis gestured to a second elevator and put him on it. Again, they went down many levels- Jesse had no idea how many. When the door opened, MP's seemed to lurk everywhere. All of them had guns and all of them where nervous; tense. 

Jesse watched them in admiration as his guide pushed him in all different directions. Observing the strange place, he knew that he would never be able to wander the corridors in that place, not from memory at least. Everything was the same; all grey and dull. The lighting was dimmed and almost eerie. 

After plenty of walking, Jesse was led up a flight of long winding stairs, passing by a floor that had many computers and an amazing view of the huge room beyond. Though he was forced to keep moving, Jesse was given enough view to know that something big was in the other room. 

Once to the end of the stairs, he found himself in a large briefing room. Three of the four walls were nicely furnished and covered with screens. But, the fourth, was a grey wall matching the outside walls. 

Around the large briefing table sat abandoned coffee mugs and glasses half-filled with water. Crumpled papers littered the floor near the chairs and ripped and unused papers lined the table itself. From all that, Jesse could tell some serious thinking had been going on that day, and it was just beginning. 

But his escort did not stop him there. No, he was forced to continue to walk. Walk until he came to a closed door on the opposite side of the room labeled General George Hammond. Behind the door, he heard nothing but voices, presumably arguing over something. Something important. 

But the arguing abruptly stopped when Davis knocked on the door and it was swung open by one of the inhabitance of the room. When the door was opened, he saw a large, powerful looking man sitting behind his large, intimidating desk. His face was wrinkled in concern and Jesse could tell there were many decisions weighing heavily on him. 

Half sitting on the large desk was Colonel Jack O'Neill. Or merely Dad to Jesse. Standing off in the corner was Dr. Samantha Carter- his mother- and Dr. Janet Fraser, a strong woman Jesse had met almost three years before when she was invited over for dinner and became much of a family friend after that. 

"Thank-you, Major," the distinguished man of about fifty told Davis. The Major nodded and stepped outside, knowing the four would want to talk to his charge in private. "Take a seat, Mr. O'Neill," the man told him, gesturing the seat in front of his desk the minute Davis stepped out of the room. 

Jesse looked at the door in which Davis was just behind then back at the four people, watching him and waiting for him to do as he had been told. And he did. Though he now felt unprotected without his ever-present guard, he did as he was told out of shear fear of what was about to be said to him. 

"Now, son, I know this may seem strange to you… and very confusing, but trust me, it is necessary," the man, Jesse assumed was the General, began slowly. He seemed to be walking around eggshells with him, hoping that he could explain without explaining anything. But he knew that he couldn't do that. 

"Everything I'm about to tell you, you will repeat to only those you recognize as working here, in this facility. Is that understood?" Jesse nodded at the man and he continued, "This place exists for one reason: to protect Earth. To protect people like you and your friends. From what? From aliens. A specific one being a race known as the Gou'ald. 

"Few races ever go up against them and survive. We have had many allies that have simply been annihilated by this race. Our best ally, the Tok'ra, have recently been destroyed and we now have strong intelligence showing we're next."

Jesse sat quietly; listening to everything the General had to say. It was… different to say the least. Aliens coming to destroy Earth. But, what he couldn't get, was way they were telling him that. 

As if reading his mind, the General continued, "I know what you must be thinking: why is he telling me this? There's something very special about you, Jesse. Something we need to preserve. There is a device we have been able to acquire. It is linked to hundred of other realities. Some so different it's beyond your imagination, while others, you can barely tell that there's a difference."

"And… you want to send me to one of those places?" Jesse asked, his voice shaky and unsure as he asked the intimidating man. 

His father nodded solemnly from his place on the General's desk. "Yea, kid. But… you have to go alone."

Jesse starred at his father in alarm. He would have to leave them? His parents and go away to a completely different place? What if it was of the really different ones? How could he live there?

"You mean, I have to go. By myself to a place… completely different to my life?" Jesse asked. 

"We've looked at some of the realities closest to ours. There's one where… you don't exist and your father and myself do. Though we're not sure if they are married or even together, it's the best possible place to send you. They seem to have managed to avoid the wrath of the Gou'ald. Or at least an invasion so far," his mother piped up. 

Jesse sighed and looked down at his hands. He would go if they made him, but he'd much rather prefer to stay with them. Looking back at his father, he asked, "When do I have to leave?"

"The sooner the better." Jesse just nodded for he had no desire to do much more. 

**SGC, Storage Closet**

The so-called mirror device, Jesse had been explained about, was much less attractive when saw rather than imagined. It was a six-foot slab of rock, it's middle a mere black plate. He looked at it thinking, 'How can this do anything but take up space?'

Jesse turned and looked back at his parents, who were standing off to the side close to the door. They looked back at their son, understanding his confusion and disbelief. Then his view shifted to his long time guard, Davis, standing not far from his parents. He had brought him from his school, to the General's office, then to the room they were currently in. Davis gave him a quick smile and a nod of support. 

His eyes moved once again as they landed on a small piece of machinery. It was not much bigger than a textbook but much more interesting. Stepping up to it, he saw many colorful squares and such on it along with an orange half-sphere in the dead center. 

While he had been looking at it, his mother had moved closer to him. She placed an uneasy hand on his shoulder and used the other to pick up the piece of technology. Turning him around to face the mirror with a gentle shove, she pressed the square in the top center. 

Jesse looked up at the mirror and saw that the black slate had been replaced by the image of a large beach with crystal water flowing back and forth on the golden sand. Jesse starred at it, his eyes ready to pop out of his head in his awe. But, just as suddenly as the image was there, it had changed. His mother had changed it using the middle sphere; she turned it like changing the TV channel. 

Jesse looked at the new image. He saw the same image as he did when the door was opened: a long grey hallway seen from a storage closet. As he continued to watch, he heard the sound of metal boots hitting the metal floor. 

"Turn it!" His father shouted at the sound, confusing Jesse. 

But the new image soon held his attention. This time it was a dark room. Inside the room were red streams of light surrounding the mirror. He assumed that they were some type of security; that the mirror in their reality was much more secure than the one he was standing in front of. 

Jesse waited for him mother to turn the image to another one, but she never did. Instead, she whispered to his father, "This is the one."

"Are you sure?" He asked, his voice just slightly louder than hers was. 

"Yes." Jesse turned to see his father nod at her last words and knew this was the place he was going. No matter how absurd he thought the whole thing sounded, he believed his parents. Searching his father's eyes, he tried to prove that he didn't need to leave. That he could handle whatever was coming. But his eyes weren't budging and Jesse easily realized that he would not be changing his father's mind.

"Do I have to… to go now?" Jesse asked, his eyes meeting no ones' eyes but the floor's. 

Jack looked his son over. It was true that he was becoming a man right before his eyes. It was more than he wanted to see. But he knew, that soon the Gou'ald would come. And, if Jesse was there, they all would die and he'd never see him grow up. But, if he sent him to this place, he knew there was a chance he'd survive and the _him _there would watch Jesse grow and become a man. Perhaps get married. Maybe have children. But, most of all, live without the threat of the Gou'ald. 

Jack looked over at Sam. Her eyes told the same story. They wanted him to grow up. To live a life, not die at the hands of an enemy he didn't even know. But, most of all, it was the secret he held. The reason he didn't know this enemy. And why they didn't know of him. 

"I'm afraid you need to go now. The Gou'ald will be here soon. Trust me, now is better," Jack insisted. Jesse nodded, his eyes still focused on the spot he had found on the floor. "Jesse. Jesse, look at me." Jesse's eyes moved to find his father's. "You'll be all right. That's very important. It's important that the Gou'ald never find you. That they don't ever know you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." 

"Good. Tell that to them." Jesse nodded. His father's tone was extremely serious. Something he tried to avoid and Jesse knew to do as his father had instructed him. 

With a shaky breath, he bit back his tears and stepped forward. Embracing his father, Jesse felt him relax with the knowledge that he would soon be safe. Reluctantly, Jesse parted with his father. After, he moved toward his mother. Sliding his arms around her waist, he gave her an equally as tight and comforting hug. 

Somehow, the word "good-bye" seemed… inadequate. And, almost, wrong. This wouldn't technically be good-bye for he would meet them again wherever he was going. It was just… it wouldn't be _them_.

Jesse broke the tight embrace with his mother and turned to look at Davis. Stretching his hand, he said, "Thank-you." Davis took Jesse's small hand in his larger one and shook it fondly. 

"No problem."

Stepping back, his new view permitted him to see both his parents. His eyes, sad and fearful, looked at his parents and gave them a silent good-bye. With a deep breath, he turned and faced the ancient mirror. Then, as instructed by his mother, he placed his hand on the mirror. 

It was a strange feeling. All he did was merely touch a mirror but he felt as if an electrical charge had been sent through him. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck and on his arms standing on end. 

Moving his hand away from the electrical mirror, he looked down at it. He saw nothing wrong nor out of the ordinary on it. But it wasn't sight that was wrong. It was his nerve endings sending jumbled up signals- confused to if they were being electrocuted or touching nothing but air. 

Looking up, he saw his parents and escort from school and through the SGC- Major Davis- standing there just as they had been before he had touch the mirror only backwards- a mirror image. 

Through the invisible barrier, he looked at his father, standing in his real dimension. Giving a sad smile, he nodded to him from wherever it was that he was now trapped. It was as if to show he was all right and able to handle himself, but that was not how he felt. 

Turning his blue eyes away, they found and connected with his mother's equally blue eyes. His smile had not faded but was breaking. He wanted to cry. He wanted to throw himself and the mirror and be with them; suffer with them whatever fate was coming. 

But he knew they would not allow that. 

So, instead, he raised his hand and gave a quick wave. The last he would ever give to anyone from his universe for that was the signal. The signal to his mother, who held the mirror's controller, to deactivate the mirror. To cut his tie with his reality forever. 

Within barely a moment, the machine turned off and was left as a simple rock. A hollow rock that held so many possibilities and so many realities. A rock that could change your life forever or destroy it. Or do both, like it had for Jesse in so many ways. 

With a dejected step, he walked backwards. Fighting back his tears, he closed his eyes and forced himself to look away from the mirror. To look away from his last life and realize that he had a whole new one there. Though he may have left his true parents, he was told that he would have them there as well. If they wanted him, he would still have parents. 

Before Jesse even knew what was going on, he was suddenly surrounded by soldiers. All of them holding a gun, and all of those guns pointed at him. Looking around at the men and trying to comprehend what was happening, he realized it would be a good idea to raise his hands. 

And so he did. To show them that he had no weapons. To show he was not going to harm them. And to show that he was more afraid of them than the mirror he had just touched. After doing that, he looked down and found he had made the right choice for at least twenty red dots were all pointing at his chest. 

One of the soldiers- Jesse identified as a Captain- stepped forward, his gun pointing at Jesse's neck, and asked, "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Jesse looked in fear at the man. He knew that he could not stop the man. He may be one of the strongest in his school, but that man did not go to his school and was a lot bigger, a lot stronger, and a lot more equipped weapon-wise. 

At that point, Jesse didn't know what to think. His mind- as sharp as it was- was still trying to wrap around the alternate reality thing. Because of that, having twenty guns pointed at him with the ability to kill him if he showed any sign of hostility was too much for him. 

With a shaky voice, he answered, "J-Jesse… Jesse O'Neill. And I don't really know why I'm here."

The officer eyed him with a curious yet suspicious look. After taking in what he could while within the dark room, he nodded to his fellow officers and stepped away. With that sign, one of the soldiers closest to him lowered his M-16 and stepped forward. Taking hold of his still raised hands, he moved them until they were behind his back. Then he cuffed them to ensure the safety of others incase he was hostile. 

Gently, the Lieutenant pushed him forward, taking him through the crowd with only two men going in front of them and at least two following them as his guards while the other fifteen or so guards went back to securing the area. 

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So… how is it so far? Good… bad? Ok but could be so much better I won't even go into detail? You know, whatever you think, you can tell me. I'm usually calm-headed (I think that's a word) so don't be afraid to talk to me. 

Actually, I like it when people talk to me because… I don't know why but I do. I like it when they tell me how good it was and how much they liked it and any other suggestion they can think of. Really, I won't bit your head off for speaking your mind, just no flames or extremely rude comments is all I ask. Thanks, and R/R.


	2. Mom and Dad?

Author's Note: Wow! That was more reviews in like three days than I have ever gotten in like the first five chapters. I am very impressed. And thank-you for all the positive reviews. 

So, you all like it, that's good. Well, in this chap, Jesse does meet Sam and Jack- if only for a few minutes. But, everyone couldn't wait to see that so… I hope you enjoy and review as much as you did last chapter. 

Summary: When Jesse agreed to leave his world, he didn't begin to expect anything he was about to go through. And what will it be like to met his parents… only they aren't?

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Chapter Two:

Mom and Dad?

After the guards had removed him from the room with the mirror, Jesse had been brought to another room furnished with nothing but a simple table, a light fixture, and recording device. Jesse was told to sit in a chair- it was wooded and not comfortable at all- and had to stay there for almost an hour before someone had come to talk to him. 

The door opened and gave a thirty-year old man access to the dimly lighted room. He was an Air Force officer and, from what he could see, the man was a Major. The man made his way to the second seat without so much as a word. 

Before saying anything, the Major activated the recording device and said, "Hi, Jesse. You don't mind if I call you that?" Jesse shook his head and allowed him to continue. "My name is Major White, do you mind telling me more about yourself."

"Like what?"

"Well, how about we start with your parents. What are their names?" The Major asked. 

Jesse thought it over for a moment before answering, "Jonathan and Samantha O'Neill. My father's a Colonel in the United States Air Force."

The Major nodded, jotting down a few notes. "Alright, do you know where he's posted?"

"Um, at the S… at Cheyenne Mountain," Jesse told him, not sure what he could and couldn't tell the man. 

The Major nodded and again scribbled down a note or two. "Now, how about you tell me about how you found out about the quantum mirror."

Jesse looked at him, at first not knowing what he was talking about. "The mirror? I, um… I was told about it. And they had this reality picked out already once I got there."

"Who told you?" 

Jesse looked at the man carefully. He was neither mean nor forceful in trying to get the information from him but he was still as intimidating as General Hammond seemed. Thinking of the General, he remembered that he was to tell no one that he didn't recognize as SGC personnel. So, instead of answering, Jesse stayed quiet. 

"Alright, you don't have to tell me. How about why you came?" Again, Jesse chose not to respond for fear that this was another question he wasn't supposed to answer. The Major looked him over, seeing that he was young and not necessarily someone who would know the answers to some of his questions. "If you don't want to talk to me, who would you like to?"

Jesse looked at him. He didn't believe his ears; he could choose whom he wanted to talk to? He could get a hold of his parents that easily? It seemed too good to be true. There had to be a but coming on. He knew it. 

But there never was. "My parents. I mean… my parents here. In your reality."

The Major looked down at his notes where two names had been scribbled down. A Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter. He nodded at the paper and then at the boy before saying, "Alright, I'll contact them. Until then, we'll set up some temporary accommodations for you."

The Major rose and walked to the guard at the door. He whispered something to him and the guard nodded. Once the Major was gone, the guard approached the boy and gestured for him to raise and follow him. 

**Unknown**

His "accommodations" were little more than a bed, nightstand with a lamp, along with a modest table and two chairs. Looking around the room, he saw the walls were solid grey- similar to the SGC's. Walking up to his bed, he noticed that a uniform had been laid out for him to wear the next day. It was one of the camouflage ones where the dull greens, browns, and blacks mixed to form the material and uniform itself. Picking up his only other clothing, Jesse folded the one-piece outfit unceremoniously and plopped it on the small table that was temporarily his. 

With the little energy he had left, Jesse dropped onto the bed- taking only a few seconds to remove his shoes but not bothering with the rest of it. He could careless about the fact he was still wearing his clothes nor could he care about how cold it was or where he was or what was going on. All that he could think about was his parents. And that he would never see them again. Or how they would be dead, soon if not already. 

Putting his face in his pillow, he let go. Let go of his tightly held emotions. The feelings of fear and sorrow he had contained about his parents. His world. His life. Tears flowed freely as he let go on the little reality he understood at the moment. The little he wanted to know at that instant. 

A loud knock on the door pulled Jesse out of his utopia; a wonderful dream about home and Alyssa and his mom and dad. Slowly, he opened his eyes and tried to get his bearings in the strange room he found himself in. With a tired sigh, he forced himself to sit up and run a hand through his long hair. Yawning, he swung his feet over the bad and felt the pads of his feet hit the ground. 

A second tap on the door reminded him of the reason he had been awoken in the first place. Looking over at the nuisance, he debated whither or not to answer. "Come in," Jesse finally yawned, still trying to wake himself. 

The door opened to reveal an Airman. "There's someone who wants to speak with you."

"Now?"

"Get dressed. I'm to take you to them," the Airman announced, his voice neither friendly nor rude. 

Jesse looked over at the camouflage uniform he had found the night before. With a cringe, he stood just as the man closed the door, giving him some privacy. 

Peeling off his shirt, he revealed his muscular physic and six-pack he worked hard to achieve and maintain between basketball, track, and weight lifting. Throwing the dirty item aside, he began stripping off his jeans and tossing them next to his shirt. Grabbing the now wrinkled uniform, he slipped his muscular legs into the pant legs and pulled the material up to his waist. 

Leaving that there, he picked up the tight, black shirt and throw it on, remembering to tuck it into his uniform. Then, sliding his arms into the arms, he zipped up the uniform up to about mid-chest. 

Satisfied that he couldn't look any better or worse in it, he shoved his out of place Nike sneakers on before walking up to the door. Turning the knob, the door opened smoothly. The guard who had awakened him stood just across the hall, waiting for him to emerge. 

With a quick nod, the Airman turned and, supposedly, expected Jesse to follow him. Which he did. For some time, they just walked down the long, endless hallway of the only building he had ever visited in this particular reality. 

The hallway was familiar to Jesse for he had walked the same path the night before. It was the same way to the 'Interrogation' room as Jesse had classified it. He was probably going to have to talk to the Major again. He knew it. They wouldn't both trying to get a hold of anyone. They wouldn't know who his father or mother were. They probably didn't work at the mountain nor was his father in the Air Force. 

The Airman opened the door for Jesse, who knew to just walk in after the man stood aside and didn't seem to have any intention of entering the room himself. Jesse didn't need to be told twice to go to his old seat and wait to be talked to by the Major. The moment he entered the room, he was caught up in an intense feeling of something he could never have the words to describe. But something in the pit of his stomach told him there was something there.

Walking in with a tired and defeated posture, disturbed little by the sickening feeling, he was surprised when he heard hushed voices speaking. Looking up, his face fell when he recognized three of the four people standing in the room. 

Then a smile grew across his face when he saw the familiar short blonde hair of his mother and brown head belonging to a good friend and mentor. It even grew when he managed to distinguish the voice of his father- sarcastic yet commanding. 

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the group turned to see the young boy standing there, watching them. His blue eyes large and confused. Yet his smile was confident and happy, showing none of the fear of rejection his heart felt deep down. 

"Hi," his father- no, Colonel O'Neill- greeted him. Jesse, trying to seem more mature, lost his smile and put on a more serious face. 

His eyes changed: they no longer held his fear and sorrow. But, instead, they shown with curiosity and hope. Hope that they would accept him and not force him away. But, underneath all that, was pure and simple panic. 

"Hi," Jesse responded. Looking over at the table- now owning five rather than two seats- and wondered if he should sit or not. 

Jack, as if reading his mind, looked at the table as well and decided to walk over and take a seat. His mother, followed by Daniel and then the unnamed man, joined him. Jesse took the hit and settled himself into the last available one. 

"Well, I was told you'd only talk to me and Major Carter. Why's that?" His father asked. Jesse looked at him for a moment, not sure who the other person was. He looked over at his mother and notice, for the first time, she too was wearing fatigues. Looking at her collar, he saw the leaves signifying her as a Major. 

Looking down at his hands, currently placed on the table, he realized his mother and father were not and could not get married in this reality. Regulations kept them apart unlike his parents who did not have that as an obstacle. 

Glancing up at his father, he recognized the signs that he was patiently waiting for an answer to a question he already knew. "Because," Jesse shrugged. 

"Because? That's a good answer. Now how 'bout the real one?" Jack asked, more forceful than the last time. 

Jesse sighed. He saw few differences between _this _Jack and _his _Jack. They both knew what voice to use to get him to answer and obey and they both knew just what and how to say it in a way that it was impossible to say no to. 

Continuing to look at his hands, Jesse answered with a simple, "I was told to only talk to people I know I could trust."

"And you can trust us?" Sam asked. 

Her soft, beautiful voice was exactly what Jesse wanted to hear at that moment. He looked up at her, looking into the eyes he shared with her. "You guys… and Daniel." He looked over at the linguist/archeologist. 

Taking it all into stride, Jack asked his next question, "How did you find out about the mirror?"

Some questions Jesse knew- well, had a feeling- he could tell those he wasn't as sure he could trust. But this question, he didn't know. Looking across the table at the large man, he took him in- deciding whither or not to trust him. He was large and well built from what Jesse had seen before he sat down. His skin was dark; he seemed African American. The floppy hat he wore on his head looked completely out of place but covered his head and forehead and also made it hard to see his eyes. But, without seeing them, he could tell that his face was stone and quite intimidating. 

Jack, seeing Jesse's scrutiny of Teal'c, said, "You can trust him. I promise."

Jesse looked at Jack and then back at Teal'c before nodding. Looking to his father, he explained, "My… my parents told me about it after they had me brought to Cheyenne Mountain from school. They said… well, actually General Hammond told me that they had a mirror capable of transporting people to another reality."

At the mentioning of the General's name, Jack looked over at Sam. She shrugged, telling him it was completely possible that his reality had General Hammond in a high-ranking position too.

"That brings me to my next question," Jack began, looking back at whom the question would be directed to. "Why you? Why not some of the officers on the base or the other children. Why only you?"

Jesse looked at him. For a long moment, he said nothing. Jesse had asked the same question some time before he had left. But he was told only that: "General Hammond said I was special."

"Special how?"

Jesse shrugged at Daniel's question, "I don't know. He never said and I didn't have time to ask."

Jack nodded and stood, gesturing to his team that they should follow. When Jesse went to rise, Jack said, "No, stay here for a second." Jesse obeyed and watched them move over into the corner. 

"What do you think?" Jack asked his team in a hushed voice, hoping the kid couldn't hear. 

"I think he's a frightened young child who doesn't know how to lie to us at the moment. He trusts us because he recognizes the three of us from his reality and probably was even told to talk to only those he knew," Sam stated, looking back at the child who eerily resembled her. His claims that she was his mother could easily be correct but farther tests would be needed. 

"I agree, Jack. I don't think, at this point, he has the right mind to understand everything going on _to _lie to us," Daniel agreed with Sam. 

Jack nodded and said, "Teal'c?"

"I concur with Major Carter and Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said simply in his monotone voice. 

"Alright, then we should get him back to the base. Have Janet run some tests, work her magic." The group began to brake up at that moment when they heard that note. Wondering back to the table Jesse still sat at, Jack said, "Alright, kid. Let's get going."

Jesse looked up at the man who looked and acted so much like his father he was almost sure that he had been a victim of an awful prank. But he knew that was not the case. 

"What do you mean?"

"You're coming with us. Back to the mountain," Jack told him as the other three members waited at the door. 

Jesse looked up into his father's brown eyes and smiled. He got to go with them. He wasn't being abandoned. And, maybe, he would have his two parents playing some kind of parenting role in his life. 

Springing out of his chair, he walked along side of his father as they walked toward the waiting team. 

**SGC Private Jet**

Sure, Jesse had been on an airplane once or twice but, what he was on, was not normal. The thing was furnished with couches! The stewardess brought him anything he asked for considering there were only four other passengers. It was amazing!

Jesse found himself running through the plane taking in ever detail and every feeling it allowed. He could careless that the other four were watching him act like an idiot, it was just too cool! Too cool not to act like an idiot. 

Finally sitting down, Jesse chose to sit on one of the couches and look out the window. He looked down and saw how different the scenery was from high above. He allows loved to look down on everything. It made him feel almost… like a god. 

Jesse looked over his shoulder at his two _parents_. They had been sitting next to each other the entire two hours of the flight so far, not say much of anything. He knew from experience what they looked like together; they were adorable. But, they were his parents so he wouldn't go much past that. 

But these two, they couldn't ever be together unless one retired or something. And, from how closely bonded they all seemed, Jesse knew they weren't about to do that. Not even for the chance to be together. He could see it in their eyes that they wanted to, but they didn't dare try and tell others about that deeply buried feeling. 

Turning his head around so he could look back out the window, he heard the beginnings of a conversation. "Carter?"

"Yea, sir," Sam said, distracted as she continued to watch her _son_ run around the plane. 

"The kid, he can't stay on the base forever. And, um, sending him back through the mirror is obviously out of the question," Jack stated. 

"Right. What are you getting at, sir?" Sam asked, finally looking at him. 

Jack sighed and said, "I was going to invite him to live at my house." Jack's eyes never left Jesse as he looked out the window and watched over the land below as he spoke quietly to Sam. "I have plenty of spare room and… god knows the kid needs someone to watch him if he's going to stay here."

Sam nodded and looked back at the boy. He may have looked a lot like her, but he had Jack's personality. He could be completely goofy at one moment to replace that by complete seriousness the next. 

For a moment, Jack stayed quiet, not knowing if he should or shouldn't bother with what he wanted to say. Then, "I have… three spare rooms. You know, if you ever… wanted to just come by and… I don't be with him, there will always be a room open for you."

Sam looked at him in disbelief. He had just offered her to enter his house and stayed the night whenever she wanted. That was completely against regulation but… so was the fact the two of them had a child. Technically. 

Slowly, Sam nodded, showing she agreed with the proposition. If Jesse was hers as well, she wouldn't abandoned him and leave it completely to Jack to take care of him. She would never do that. At least, she would never do it on purpose. 

**Colorado Springs Airport*

Jesse may have ridden in an airplane before but what awaited him after he exited the private jet was new. Once off the narrow ladder, Jesse could see a long, black limousine waiting for the bunch. He looked it over a few times, not realizing it was their ride until Daniel and Teal'c headed toward it. 

Looking around, he saw dozens of other planes. Some of them looked ready to board while others seemed not to be in use at the moment. Coughing a bit, he noticed the thick smell and taste of fuel in the air and the distinct smell of burnt rubber. 

Continuing to walk with his _parents_, Jesse walked up to the limousine and ducked inside. Sliding over, he made room for the two Air Force officers. Turning to be more comfortable, he looked out the window at the large airstrip. 

As the engine was started and the driver began heading wherever it was that they were going, Jesse's eyes stayed focused on the dead center of the window. He saw everything but took in nothing. Nothing of the beauty. Just nothing but his own thoughts he had lost himself in. 

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So, how'd ya like it? Huh, huh, huh? Please R/R and tell me how it's going. (Yea, I don't have much else to say this time. I used it all up last time.)


	3. Father and Son

Author's Note: About the question about Jesse's height (6'8") I think that was a typo. I'm pretty sure that I meant something more along 6' or 6'2" -ish. Thanks for catching that for me. Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy the chapter and please R/R 

Summary: When Jesse is cleared to leave the SGC, Jack takes him home. But how well do the two adjust?

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Chapter Three:

Father and Son

Jesse was lying with his back on a board holding him up as he was scanned. He had never had a MRI before. It was both scary and exhilarating all at the same time that Jesse didn't know what to make of it. He didn't know why they were scanning him. He hadn't been hurt or anything like that. He just assumed that it was protocol or something like that. But, whatever it was, he didn't care. 

He found that he cared about little anymore. It was just that he had no reason to. No reason to care that they wanted to take an image of his head or that he was stuck farther than the mind would allow from his true home. 

Slowly, the long bed-like board was moved out and Jesse's view changed from being that of white walls inside the machine to the dull grey of the ceiling. The moment the bed stopped, Jesse found a face leaning over him. 

Dr. Janet Fraser smiled down at him. Her hands reached up to his head and undid the strap holding his head to the table. "You did a great job, Jesse."

"Thanks," Jesse responded after sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "What was that for anyway?"

Janet looked at him. She wasn't sure if he didn't realize that they could tell a Gou'ald had inhabited a body by using a MRI or he simply didn't know what a Gou'ald was enough to know that they were even symbiotes. 

"Well, using something like this, we can tell if a Gou'ald symbiote has taken someone as their host," Janet explained. 

"I don't understand. The Gou'ald, who are about to or already have destroyed my world, are… symbiotes?" 

"Yes." Janet looked at the boy before quickly glancing at his "parents" who stood waiting in the room far above their heads. "They force people to become their hosts. Inhabit their bodies and force them to do as they wish. Their host has no control over their actions at all."

"And that's one reason you fear them. They could easily take anyone as their host. Use them in whatever way they wish?"

"Yes." Janet was surprised. She knew that, if it was true, his mother was extremely smart, but she would have never thought that he would be that perceptive or quick to understand such hard concepts. 

Jesse looked back at the strange contraption that he had been in for almost twenty minutes. He wasn't one of those Gou'ald but, if they were so dangerous, it was a good precaution and he could understand why they had made him do such a thing. 

"Come on," Janet told him, putting her hand on his shoulder. Jesse hopped off of the straight board and walked with Janet trough the door. She walked him back to the main section of the Infirmary and had him sit down on one of the beds. 

"I'll be right back," she told him. 

Jesse nodded and whispered, "Ok."

Looking around, Jesse saw nothing thoroughly interesting. Medical equipment, beds, computers, but nothing else. Not really beside the guards stationed at the doors. He looked back in the direction Janet had gone and waited for her to come back. 

After a minute or two, she was back holding a tray. "Ok, now I just need to draw some blood and then you're free to go." Jesse nodded and watched her roll up his shirtsleeve. From the tray, she pulled out a long yellow rubber string. Tying it around his left arm, she grabbed an alcohol wipe and cleaned his arm. 

Jesse watched her closely. Especially after she grabbed the needle. Sticking it into his vein, he cringed when he felt the slight prick. Looking at his arm, he watched the blood fill the container. Then the next one. And then the third. 

"Alright, you're all done," Janet announced once she had pulled out the needle and removed the string. 

"Thank-you," Jesse said to her and stood. After getting his feet flat on the ground, he smiled at her. 

"No problem." When Jesse went to move around her and meet his parents, she said, "I noticed you seemed more comfortable around me than I would have expected."

Jesse shrugged and said, "You're a nice person in my reality. I figured I could trust you." Jesse smiled, showing dimples that could match his fathers. Janet smiled back at him and slapped him on the shoulder. 

"Go find your parents," Janet said without even thinking about it. He was too much like them to deny the fact they truly were his mom and dad. 

**Jack's House**

Jack's normal routine was to drive home by himself, walk in the house by himself, perhaps eat some dinner or something by himself, grab a beer and watch some TV by himself and, when he could no longer keep his eyes opened, go to bed by himself. 

But, that night, it changed. It changed forever. He now had Jesse with him, who would be there for some time, he would think. There would be little to no more drowning his sorrows in beer bottles for that was not something he was about to show and teach Jesse. 

But then there was also Sam. And the prospect of Sam spending more and more time over at his place. It was enough to no longer need the booze. That the pain might go away a bit with the idea of her being around. 

Jack looked over at his son, who was already looking around with curious eyes. He smiled as he watched him thoroughly inspect the living room. He took in the couches and their arrangement. Then the TV. The windows and where they were- even their view. 

Jack would assume that things were a little, maybe even a lot, different. But Jesse was acting like a child in a gigantic candy store: looking at every piece of candy with the same scrutiny that a Jeweler gives when working.

While Jesse took in every detail of Jack's house that he could find, Sam and Jack talked quietly just outside the door. They had talked in great depth during Jesse's examination. Both realized that Jesse was used to the idea of two married parents who he lived with, but, no matter how they felt, they knew that neither could move into the others house. Not even for their _son_. 

The two had come to the conclusion that Jesse would live with Jack, in his house. On the weekends, he would stay over at Sam's or, at least, visit. All except that one. It was the easiest solution to the odd situation they had been thrown. 

"Carter… just remember my offer. You can stay here whenever you'd like. Just… come over," Jack told her, watching Jesse out of the corner of his eye as he looked over the room he was in. 

"Yea, I know."

"Will you ever come?" Jack asked suddenly. Sam looked at him with shook clearly showed on her face. Jack knew that she was hesitant by the idea allow but the fact that she might do it would be a whole different thing. 

Jack looked up at her, his eyes showing how much he truly wanted her to say yes. Sam smiled the smile she saved for him and him only. But Jack never got his answer for, at that moment, Jesse had finished his exploration of the living room and had rejoined his _parents_. 

"Major?"

"Yes, Jesse?"

"Will you be staying here?" Jesse asked, his tone and eyes innocent as if ignorant to the regulations prohibiting the two to ever get together. 

Sam looked at Jack, his eyes asking the question. Sam smile grew said, "No, I'm not. Not today, Jesse. Actually, I should get going." Sam looked up into Jack's eyes. 

His lips became a thin line as he nodded and said, "Yea. This way." Jack gestured to his left and led her to the door. "You sure you want to go now?" Jack asked once out of the ears of his _son_. 

"Yea. Bye, sir. See ya tomorrow, Jesse."

"Bye, Major," Jesse called with a wave of his hand. 

Sam gave Jack one last quick grin and stepped out of the door. Jack raised his hand with a short wave. He pushed the door closed and looked at his _son_. Now a permanent member of his house. 

"Uh, the Air Force has settled everything with school and all. You start Monday," Jack told his _son_. Jesse just nodded and continued starring in his glass of Pepsi. Sighing, Jack decided he would try a different approach with him. 

"So, tell me about yourself," Jack said, taking a seat next to Jesse on his couch. 

Jesse finally looked away from the glass he was cradling. He shrugged and said, "Well, I like basket ball. I… was the captain of my school team." Jack nodded with approval and let him continue with his story. "I have straight A's in school. I was on the track team- cross-country. I love going snowboarding in the winter."

"How 'bout a girlfriend?" Jesse blushed and looked back at his pop. "That's a yes. You've got to tell me now."

Jesse smiled at his father, his checks becoming darker red every second. "Her name's Alyssa. She's… gorgeous. Long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. Her smile… it's… And she's really smart… and funny and… nice." Jesse looked at his hands and the smile began to fade- his eyes showing his remembrance of what was going to happen to her. "I miss her."

Jack looked down. He too understood his feeling of loss. It must have been extremely hard on him. Just trying to understand everything was one thing, comprehending it and moving on was another. 

"What about you?" 

"Huh?" Jack asked, looking up to find blue eyes starring at him. 

"What about you? What are you like?"

Jack shrugged and told him, "I've been in the Air Force for a long time. I… like to go fishing at my cabin. And… I don't know."

"You have a cabin up in Minnesota?"

"Yea, why?"

"You'd… I mean, my dad would take me fishing there all the time. Sometimes my mom would go, but… it was mostly just the two of us. She said we needed our "father, son bonding time" but I think she just wanted to play with her toys at her lab."

Jack laughed, remembering all the times he had tried to get Sam to go with him. But she always turned him down to work in her lab. "Good to know some things never change."

"Yea." The two stayed quiet a minute or two before Jesse asked, "Are you married?"

Jack looked at him a second. First confused, then surprised he would ask. "Well… I was married. We, uh, we had a son. His name was Charley."

"What happened?" Jesse asked, his brow creasing as he recognized the pain covering his _father_'s face. 

Jack looked up at his _son_. The sympathy on his face was clear but the sorrow was more pronounced. "He found… my gun. And shot himself." Blue eyes found brown ones and Jesse was instantly sorry to make him relive that part of his life. 

"About a week later I was called in to command the first team to go through the Stargate. I was ready to commit suicide on that mission. But there were a few factors holding me back. When I returned, Sarah had left me."

"Sarah was your wife?"

"Yea. I retired after that. Then, a year later, the Stargate program reopened. I was recalled and put in command of SG-1," Jack explained. "I didn't met Carter until then. She's my second in command." Jesse nodded. It was different, but he could accept it. 

"You're what… thirteen, fourteen?"

"Fourteen."

"Right. That would mean that Sam and I had known each other for, what, fifteen, sixteen years?"

"That's sounds about right," Jesse agreed. "My mom was a civilian scientist working for the Air Force. She and my dad met at Cheyenne Mountain, I think, working on the Stargate program."

"You mean your Stargate program has been going on for almost sixteen years?" Jack asked in disbelief. 

"Yea. Well, for a while anyway. I know I've heard about it ever since I could remember. I would always listen closely to my parents talk. They would say things about the Stargate and the Gou'ald. It meant nothing to me at the time. But now I think I understand most of it."

Jack watched Jesse closely. He was a well-adjusted child considering everything he had gone through. And, considering everything, he seemed to be a good kid who had been spared the problems of the SGC for quite awhile. 

"You never went to the SGC, though. Did you?" Jack asked. 

"No, not that I remember. I think the only time I was ever there was when they told me about the mirror. And here of course," Jesse told him. 

For a minute or so, the two said nothing. Looking over at the wall where the clock had been hung, Jesse said, "It's getting late. I should get some sleep."

"Yea, I'll see you in the morning then," Jack said, bidding him goodnight. 

"Goodnight."

"'Night," Jack said, watching him raise and move away, heading to his room- cup still in hand. 

He could hardly sleep. No matter how hard he tried, the unconscious bliss called sleep would not permit him to enter that night. There was something in the back of his mind that had been trying to wiggle its way forward ever since he had stepped foot in the SGC. 

It was like a memory or something. It was like a dream. You knew you had one, you just couldn't remember anything about it. And it was freaking Jesse out. He had never entered the SGC before that day… or had he?

All that night, Jesse spent digging through his mind; trying to pull out anything that dealt with the SGC. Thinking hard, he couldn't remember where or how he had met Janet or Daniel. He just knew them. And no amount of searching his brain brought him any closer to solving his newest problem. 

A light knock at the door told him his father had come to cheek on him. Perhaps it was time to get up. Pretending that he was asleep, Jesse rolled over on his side and put his face into his pillow. When the door opened, Jack saw him lying with his back toward him and his eyes closed.

But Jack knew better than to think that he was asleep. He had spent many nights with Charley, talking to him about whatever. And plenty of mornings were spent finding him awake, thinking about what had been discussed. The only thing would be that Charley always tried to make him think that he was sleeping soundly. And Jack could see that Jesse wasn't that different from Charley. 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jack stretched out a hand and shook Jesse's shoulder a little and said, "Jesse, wake up. You've got to get dressed."

Faking a groan, Jesse asked, "What time is it?" His voice was a perfect imitation of a sleepy child. 

"0600 hours," Jack told him, his military mind forgetting to shut down but Jesse didn't seem to mind. "We have to be at the Infirmary at eight o'clock." Jesse nodded and sat up, his features covered with fatigue. Seeing that, Jack asked, "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Jesse looked at his _father_. He was genuinely concerned for him, just like his real father always was after long talks at night and the little sleep that followed. Jesse just shrugged and said, "Not a whole lot. Maybe I'm just not used to the bed."

Jack nodded at the excuse, knowing he wouldn't get very far if Jesse didn't want to talk about it. "Alright, why don't you hop in the shower and I'll make some pancakes." 

"Ok," Jesse agreed. With little effort, he pushed back the covers and stood up, his feet barely holding him up off the ground. Moving in slow, sleepy steps, Jesse made his way to the bathroom he had been shown before while Jack just watched him leaving, shaking his head at his _son_. 

After a freezing cold shower, Jesse felt awake enough to at least hold a conversation with his _father_ and, perhaps, make it through whatever he needed to do at the Infirmary. He guessed that it was just Janet- or, Dr. Fraser- going over his labs and such. 

"How was the shower?" Jack asked once he noticed Jesse standing in the doorway. 

"Good," Jesse responded, not moving from his spot. 

Jack looked away from his cooking. Jesse stood leaning against the doorframe, the jeans and shirt he wore a little big on him, but filled well. Jack smiled and looked back at his pancakes. "Have a seat, stay for a while."

Jesse smiled at the use of words: the same his father used when Jesse stood rather than sat while eating a meal. Like mentioned the previous night when he and his _father_ were talking, he was glad some things hadn't changed. It was the little things he noticed in his new world that made it just that much easier to live with. 

Jesse looked behind him at the formal dining table with eight places to sit at. Stepping back, he pulled out the closest seat and plopped himself down in it. Sitting sideways, he watched his _father_ prepare breakfast. 

Something Jesse had become accustom to at his home was every Sunday his father would prepare breakfast for his mother, him, and himself. Pancakes were traditional. It just seemed funny that that was what Jack had decided on. The only difference was the where and who since he was not in his home nor was Sam there. 

With an air of confidence, Jack walked out of the kitchen with two hands filled with plates stacked with three fluffy pieces of pancakes. Setting the first down in front of Jesse, he put the second down in front of the chair next to him. 

Straightening, Jack turned and went back into the kitchen to retrieve the forks and knives along with the maple syrup; no pancake could be eaten without it. Reaching out a hand, Jesse took the syrup and a set of silverware from his _father_ before turning in his chair properly. 

Opening the seldom-used bottle, he poured a modest amount of the brown syrup on his pancakes and handled the bottle over to Jack. 

"That's all you're going to put on?" His _father_ asked as he dumped twice the amount on his own. Jesse shook his head with a smiled, remembering his list of similarities. "What?"

"Nothing," Jesse said with as smile just before taking a large bit of his breakfast. Jack, too, shrugged it off and took a bit of his own food. 

Jesse was three fourths of the way done with his breakfast before he asked the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind. "D-Colonel?"

"You can call me Jack if you want," he informed him, understanding his hesitance in using the title Jack- in some ways- biologically held. 

"Jack? I know that you and m-Major Carter are in the Air Force together and all and that she's your second in command but… I was wondering, since she's sort of my mom, will she ever come over and visit? You know, for dinner and stuff," Jesse asked with a shrugged, not looking away from his fork poking at his food. 

Jack looked away from his almost empty plate and regarded his _son_ seriously. He knew that the question was coming, it was just a matter of time before Jesse had gotten the guts to ask. He knew he couldn't speak for Carter, but he could tell him what he thought. 

"I don't know. I guess we could ask her if she'd want to come. Maybe set up some kind of…" Jack didn't want to make it sound like he and Carter were some kind of divorced parents talking out arrangements for their son but that was just how it seemed to be. "Schedule, I guess. You know, perhaps you could spend so many days at her house or she could come here for dinners on certain days."

Jesse listened to his _father_ stutter over an idea to allow his _mother_ some time with him and visa versa. Like Jack, he thought it sounded a lot like the two were divorced. But, in some strange way, they were. To him anyway. 

"You know, we can talk to her when we see her at the mountain today," Jack continued. "Whenever," Jack finished with a shrug. Then he looked away and said, "I should probably get the dishes cleaned up and get ready."

"Um, I'll do the dishes for you. You cooked." Jesse rose and picked up the two plates and grabbed the syrup bottle before walking into the next room. That was the other part of his Sunday morning routine. His father would cook, he would clean the dishes, and his mother would help in between the two. 

Without a look behind him, Jesse set the syrup in the refrigerator and began to clean their dishes. 

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How'd you like the "father, son bonding"? Either way, R/R and tell me how it's going and what you think of everything. 


	4. The Secret

Author's Note: Wow, over thirty reviews. That more reviews than I've ever had on any other story (the last was like twenty-eight and that had a bunch of chapters!). But don't let that make you think that you don't need to keep reviewing (whoa, that's interesting grammar "don't let that make you think"). So, please keep R/Ring and enjoy the chapter. 

Summary: As things unfold, what will Jesse remember and what will Janet find that can forever change the way Jesse looks at his life?

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Chapter Four:

The Secret

Once again, Jesse found himself being escorted through the halls of the SGC. But, this time, he at least he had his _father_ with him. At least he wasn't alone with the Major praying his parents were alive. 

Walking in silence, Jesse looked at the wall he knew to belong to the Infirmary. Just down the hall, he could see the door- opened and inviting. Inside, he knew there were conversations and things going he on he would never know or understand. 

It took only six or seven steps until he and Jack reached the opened Infirmary door. Stepping inside, the men saw Janet and Sam talking in the back corner. Jesse took in the two women as he approached them. His mother wore green army fatigues with a black undershirt- something he never saw her wear before. Janet, however, wore an Air Force uniform underneath her white lab coat and her stethoscope hung around her neck. 

The moment Jack and Jesse got into hearing range, the two women abruptly stopped talking and turned to greet the two. "Hi, sir. Jesse," Sam said with a hesitant smile, not looking at Jack. Jesse had noticed the "sir", understanding that it was probably a habit from her Air Force position that his mother never acquired. 

"Carter, Doctor."

"Dr. Fraser, nice to see you again," Jesse said to the Doctor. "M-Major," Jesse stuttered over the word "mom", choosing to not say it after all. Neither his _father_ nor his _mother _ever gave him the permission to call them by those names, so he wouldn't. 

"So," Jack started. "What do you got?"

"We're just waiting for the General," Janet explained but it didn't take long for the General to arrive. At that moment, General Hammond appeared through the Infirmary's doors and approached the small group. Like all the others Jesse had seen, Hammond looked almost identical to the Hammond he had met not long before he came to his newest home.

"Doctor?" The General inquired and easily started the meeting. 

"Well, according to his MRI," Janet began, holding the transparent black and white image up to the light. "He's not a Gou'ald. But, while running tests on his blood sample, I found traces of a protein marker- similar to Sam's from Jolinar."

Sam looked over at her _son_. She thought she had sensed something from him, but she hadn't been able to identify or connect it to anything. "Could it have been from… his mother?" Sam theorized. 

"Even if she, too, had been inhabited by Jolinar, I doubt that the protein marker is hereditary," Janet said. "The only thing that would have caused it was if he had once been a host." Looking back at the confused Jesse, Janet gave him her "doctor" smile and asked, "Could I take a look at the back of your neck?"

Jesse hadn't understood any of what they had been talking about. MRIs, Gou'ald, hosts, protein markers: it all meant nothing to him put together the way it was. Secondly, he wouldn't have the slightest clue why they would want to see the back of his neck. 

Without voicing his many questions, Jesse turned and allowed the Doctor to step forward. She pulled back on his shirt collar, inspecting his skin. Janet's eyes scanned over his nicely tanned skin and found exactly what she had hoped not to. Janet's eyes pealed themselves from the four-inch scar on his neck and looked at the General. 

"He's no threat to the base? Correct?"

"Yes, General. The Gou'ald is dead," Janet re-enforced her belief in what she knew. 

"What Gou'ald?" Jesse demanded. He tried turning his head enough to see what was going on while being prohibited from moving because of the Doctor's hold on his shirt. 

Janet's eyes searched out Sam and Jack's, almost as if asking their permission to tell him what she knew. Sam just looked away while Jack looked down at the ground. Janet took that as the best sign that they were willing to tell him. 

Letting go of his shirt so he could see her, Janet looked him in the eye, ready to explain what she knew she could only tap dance around. "Well, Jesse." Janet started slowly, as if afraid he would brake from the overload of new information. "Whenever you got that scar… it was from a… Gou'ald entering your body. They tend to go through the back of the neck, making it easier to attach themselves to the brainstem. I don't know how, but that Gou'ald died and… dissolved into your bloodstream. Which is what left the protein marker."

Janet watched him closely throughout her explanation. His expressions started with calm yet apprehensive, waiting for her to get on with it. Afterward, he quickly became baffled yet skeptic. Two things that weren't good with what she was trying to get across. 

"No, that's impossible. My parents told me that scar came from hitting my neck on something when I was five. I got four stitches in that thing. They even showed me the chart and everything. It's a mistake," Jesse insisted. 

Janet just shook her head and said, "It's not a mistake. You did have a Gou'ald invade your body. You said you were five, you probably don't remember. It wouldn't surprise me that your parents tried to make you forget what happened."

Jesse looked at her, his anger rising for some reason. He wanted her to stop talking about these things. He wanted her to stop trying to tell him that his parents lied to him. He wanted everything to stop and go back to the way they were. He just wanted everything to stop. 

With a deep breath to calm his raging emotions, Jesse managed to get out, "You're wrong." With that, Jesse gave up and ran out of the room. Leaving no time for them to truly react or chase after him with his huge start on them. 

"Would you like me to have the MP's find him?" The General asked two of his finest officers. 

"No, I'll find him," Sam said, knowing that it would be easy for her to do. Not to mention her personal experience made it easier for her to talk to him. 

Jesse had no idea were he was going. He was just running. And running with all his might. He felt as if he could just run away from everything going on by getting away from everyone. No matter the fact that he knew it was doing nothing at that moment. 

Looking back, Jesse knew he had caused some damage in his path, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. At that moment, Jesse felt himself stop suddenly and hit the ground. At the same moment, he heard a man say, "Whoa there, kid! What are you doing? Better question, why are you?"

Jesse looked up into the hazel eyes of a thirty or forty year old man dressed as everyone else was: green pants, black shirt, green shirt to go over the black one. It was pretty boring when it went with the grey walls. 

The man's face was kind with his friendly smile and joking eyes. Shaking his head, his brown hair moved just slightly out of place. Reaching out an arm, he offered it to Jesse in order to help him get back on his feet. 

"Thanks," Jesse said, looking down at his feet. 

"Lieutenant Robert Jones. What's your name?" 

Jesse looked the man over and then down at his hand still holding tight to his. It was as if he thought he would bolt the minute he let go. Which he probably would. Looking back at his face, Jesse kept his eyes directly on his nose while saying, "Jesse O'Neill."

"Any relation to Colonel Jack O'Neill?" Jones asked, his brow creased as his noticed the similarities in Jesse's features to the infamous Major Carter and his name to the equally well known Jack O'Neill. 

"Yea, he's my f… yea." The Lieutenant nodded in confusion- he would never understand the place he was working in. He may have been there for almost a year, but it was a strange place and stranger yet was the people he had met while working there. 

"So, why where you running through the halls?"

Jesse shrugged, feigning innocence. "I just was."

"Jesse!" Jesse's ears perked when he heard his _mother_ calling his name. With a hard pull on the Lieutenant's hand, he tried to pull his free. But, despite the fact he was strong for his age, Lieutenant Jones was stronger than he was. 

"Major Carter!" Jones yelled out to get his _mother_'s attention and she soon appeared. "I think I found what you were looking for?" Jones asked when she got a little closer. The SGC officer had only had the pleasure of working with Sam once before- around three weeks ago- but knew of her mostly from scuttlebutt. 

"Thank-you, Lieutenant. I'll take him from here."

"Yes, ma'am." With her order, Jones finally let Jesse's hand go and continued on his way with one last look at the pair. Jesse watched as he went, noticing the patch on his shoulder with a large 3 on it. 

"Major Carter," Jesse asked, his eyes once again finding a good spot on the ground to stare at. 

"Can we talk, Jesse?" Jesse shrugged, not looking at her. 

**Outside the SGC**

"I understand what you're going through," Sam said gently. They were the first real words spoken between them since Sam had taken him from Lieutenant Jones. She, instead of talking in the populated halls or in her lab, decided to take him out of the mountain and walk through the wooded area surrounding her work place. 

"How could you?" Jesse asked with a huff, refusing to believe what she was saying. 

Sam sighed and corrected herself. "Alright, I only understand the principle of your traveling to different realities and can only imagine what it's been like for you to realize that everyone you know is most likely dead by now. But I understand some of the other stuff."

Jesse looked at her as she easily deadpanned his life for the past twenty-four hours. She worked at the SGC and saw many things like the Gou'ald and such but he doubted she could begin to understand what it's like to find things out _after_ you completely believe your parents telling you something opposite. 

Sam watched her _son_ and saw he didn't believe her. So she decided on a different approach. She'd spill everything. "About…five years ago, my team and I were trying to help save a village on another planet from the Gou'ald. There was this man; he wasn't breathing so I tried mouth to mouth. Suddenly, I found myself losing control. It was just… slipping away from me. I fought the symbiote hard, but she was stronger than I was in many ways."

At that point, Jesse was watching his _mother_ very intensely. She was telling him something he knew was very personal to her. Jesse sat down and was soon joined by Sam. Jesse continued observing her, waiting for her to collect her thoughts and continue with the story as if a young child wanting the end of a fairy tale. 

"Later, a Gou'ald assassin tried to kill the both of us. Jolinar gave her life to save mine. A Gou'ald would never do that. We discovered not much later that she was telling the truth when she said that she was a Tok'ra."

"They said something about an alley called the Tok'ra. Who are they?"

"The Tok'ra is… a group of aliens. They are much like the Gou'ald. Symbiotic. But they take only hosts that are willing rather than by force. Plus they are trying to destroy the Gou'ald, like we are," Sam explained. 

"Oh, and you were… possessed by one unwillingly? Wouldn't that be against what they believe?"

"Yes, she was willing to leave my body and enter another host if she could go through the Stargate… but, no one would trust her. They weren't about to let her go with my body," Sam told her _son_ with a faint smile. 

Jesse thought her words over, looking away yet at nothing. Lose strands of hair found their way into his eyes but he didn't notice. His mind was thousands of miles away seemingly in another world. 

__

The loud noise scared the young boy of five. Red lights lit on the walls illuminated him in a red gleam. He looked around the room he had been told to wait in by his parents; too afraid to move anywhere else just as he was too disciplined to know to do just that. 

Sliding out of his chair, he stood up straight showing his height of a mere 2'7". His curly blonde hair hung unbrushed in his eyes as he looked down into the room below him that the glass screen allowed him to see. Pressing his face and hands up to the clear wall, his curious blue eyes scanned the large area; watching the red-haired Doctor work on whatever it was she was doing. 

She seemed completely focused on her work. Mixing strange liquids with her gloved hands; the boy observed everything she did. His eyes were like those of a hawk's: missing nothing. Yet, if he wished, he could tune out anything and everything, even at his tender age. 

Jesse shook his head as if it would rid his mind of the unknown memory. He had paled slightly after remaining silent for almost five minutes. Whatever it was that just flashed through his head, Jesse didn't remember it though he knew the child was him. 

"Jesse?" Sam asked, her voice empathic and concerned for her _son_. 

"Yea?" He responded, moving his head toward her but not meeting her worried blue eyes. 

"We should go back. You gonna be ok?" 

Jesse shrugged and stated flatly, "Ask me tomorrow." With his _father_'s natural grace, he slipped past Sam and led the way to the guarded entrance by memory. But Sam trailed a few paces behind. 

She watched him for a time, thinking through what had recently happened to her life. Not only had she meet a young boy who represented a relationship between her and the Colonel, but she had discovered that she was his mother- sort of. And now, because of this fact, she and the Colonel were not in-charge of him. 

That hadn't truly sunk in the last time she had seen the boy. But, now, as they walked back to the mountain in silence, the idea was playing on her mind. Sinking in yet still being denied. If that was how she felt, her mind couldn't even beginning to imagine what his was going through. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Once Sam managed to get Jesse back into the Infirmary, Janet immediately took him and gave him a second examination. This one, though, was more thorough and included a longer medical history. 

Sam, for her part, pulled Jack to the side and asked him, "I think I've managed to calm him down but… he still in denial." Jack nodded and looked over his shoulder at the boy who was being examined by the only doctor he truly trusted. 

"Um, Sam?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Jesse and I were talking this morning," Jack began but looked away before finishing. 

"Talking about… what, sir?" Sam urged, trying to get him to look her in the eye. 

"About you… visiting. You know, for dinner or… whatever," Jack said; now looking at his feet. "Even you taking him for the day."

Sam nodded, understanding his hesitance with the subject. "Right. I-I can take him today… if you want. I could keep talking to him."

"Yea, yea… that would be a good idea," Jack agreed with a nod. "I think he'd like that: to talk to you."

**Sam's House**

From the outside, Sam's house was averagely sized and beautiful- an ideal home to live in. A small garden filled with bushes overdue for a trim surrounded the front porch. Once inside, it was large and quite spacious, even with all of her furniture. 

Sam chose to let him explore her house a little before ushering him around any. And, just as she thought he might, her _son_ headed straight for the pictures set out on a display case tucked into the corner of her living room. 

Tons of pictures of her family- father, brother, sister-in-law, and her brother's two children- lined the many shelves. Jesse's eyes flew over most of them, interested in his _mother_'s family outside of him. 

The first picture he really took the time to look at was one of his _mother_ and a man, not much younger than she was, with blonde hair and matching eyes to his and Sam's. The man was smiling at the camera with his arm wrapped around a laughing Sam. 

"Major? Who's that in the picture with you?" Jesse asked, looking away and at Sam.

She walked gradually up to where he stood and looked at the memorable picture. "That's my brother, Mark. He lives in San Diego. He doesn't exist in your reality?"

"No, I don't have any aunts or uncles. Well, not technically," Jesse pouted, turning his attention back toward the pictures. The next one his eyes settled on was a nice shot of his grandfather, Jacob. He was in full dress uniform, his General stars showing proudly with his many metals to line his chest. 

Jesse smiled sadly, recalling all the time he had spent with his grandfather. He was a great man, strong and determined, but he had a soft spot if you knew how to find it. Jesse did. He was easy to manipulate with the right words and look. 

"He died… when I was only nine. I miss him," Jesse told her in a hushed voice, trying not to upset her. 

Sam, too, held a sad gaze at the picture. For once, she felt like she understood Jesse's crisis. In her reality, her father was alive and well with the Tok'ra but, in his reality, he was dead. It was a mind-boggling concept even for Sam- an astrophysicists who wrote the book on the Stargate and wormholes (literately). 

Jesse turned and stole a look at his _mother_. Her look was not what he expected. Whenever his grandfather was mentioned around his mother, she was usually upset by it. But not this Sam. "He didn't die, did he? Not in your reality," Jesse stated with sudden understanding. 

"No. He was diagnosed with cancer, but…" Sam said with a shake of her head. 

"My grandfather died from the cancer. Nothing worked on him." Sam nodded, she knew what it had felt like to think that nothing could help him after all of modern medicine had failed. "How?"

"A Tok'ra blended with him, healing him," Sam explained briefly, not feeling up to the idea of giving the boy more detailed information. 

"Oh. Then you trust the Tok'ra more… now? More than when you were… Jolinar?" Jesse asked, turning longing eyes back to the image of his late yet not late grandfather. 

"Yea. We're allies now."

"Right." Jesse continued to stare at the abundance of pictures. He was thrilled by the idea that his _grandfather_ was still alive and that he had an uncle. And, by the looks of some of the pictures, he had two younger cousins as well. 

"Would you like something to eat?" Sam asked him, pulling his mind out of his pondering. 

It was practically noon and he found that, when he thought of it, he truly was hungry. "Sure," Jesse answered shortly. 

"What do you want?"

Jesse shrugged and turned to look at her. "How 'bout… a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

"Alright," Sam responded with a smile, turning to enter the kitchen. 

Just as Jesse looked back at the collection of photos, the doorbell rang- indicating someone was at the door. "Would you get that, please?" Sam called from the other room. Without acknowledging her question, he walked to the heavy door and turned the knob. 

When the door opened, Jesse found himself gazing into the eyes of the same man from the picture with Sam. His face paled as he looked at his uncle, completely not expecting it to be him standing at his _mother_'s door. 

Jesse observed the man, quite obviously related to Sam. He seemed almost annoyed yet, at the same time, confused because of Jesse's presence. 

"Hi," the man- Mark, she had called him- started, his eyes observing the boy suspiciously. "Is… is Sam here?"

With a nervous nodded, Jesse let the man in the house. "She's… she's in the kitchen." Mark eyed the boy for a minute longer before venturing farther into the well-furnished house. Jesse, for his part, kept a respectable distance from the man even though he still followed him to Sam. 

"Sam!" Mark called, his voice deep and musical. 

"Mark?" Carter replied as she walked out of the kitchen. "What are you… oh, yea."

"I would assume that means you forgot I was here today?"

"Yea, I'm sorry," Sam apologized to her younger brother, forgetting momentarily about her newest charge. "It's been one of those weeks."

"Right," Mark nodded. Although he knew nothing about her recent assignment for the Air Force, he had long since learned to just accept it and move on. "Um, what's with the kid?" Mark asked, his voice hushed assuming Jesse wouldn't be able to hear him. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Mark, this is Jesse … Jesse, my brother Mark."

"Nice to meet you," Jesse said as if he had never heard the name before; acting perfectly detected while deep down it was an exhilarating moment. 

"Nice to… meet you," Mark said, accepting Jesse's outstretched hand with a creased brow. 

"He's a… coworker's son. I promised to keep an eye on him," Sam explained, as if reading his mind. 

Jesse looked back and forth between the two adults and knew they would rather be alone for a while. "Um, I can go finish my sandwich. You talk to your brother," Jesse told Sam, a brave smile plastered on his face. A smile he had used too often since his arrival. It was the same kind of smile that registered on the face but not in the eyes. 

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, recognizing his look. 

"Yea. I'm sure." As if to prove his point, Jesse moved toward the unoccupied kitchen. With a final, stern look, he turned his whole body and entered the kitchen. 

For a moment, Jesse simply observed the room. It was a nicely sized kitchen- about twice what his was. There was plenty of room to move around and was just as spacious as the entire house seemed. 

At the end of the kitchen- connecting the open-walled hall to the kitchen- was a counter for preparing, serving, and eating food on. On it was Jesse's half-made meal. Stepping closer to the object, Jesse picked up the knife and stared to spread the peanut butter over the bread. All the while, he was trying very hard to shut down his hearing and not listen in on the two out in the living room. 

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Poor Jesse. So how did you like that twist? I bet no one saw that coming, did they? Please R/R and tell me how it's going. 


	5. Childhood

Author's Note: Wow! More and more and more reviews. I was wrong, my highest amount of reviews was like, forty-something. But I'd say your closing in on that very easily. Before too long, I might even be in the hundreds… I mean like eighties or something. I would like to hit one hundred, that'd be nice. Anyway, R/R and enjoy the chapter. 

Summary: How does Jesse adjust to going to a new school in a different reality when he already knows most of the people there?

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Chapter Five:

Childhood

After almost a half an hour of talking with Mark, Sam finally realized how much time had really gone by. Through the entire time they had been talking, Jesse hadn't showed up to neither remind them that he existed nor had he done anything to disrupt them. He merely had stayed in the kitchen or was roaming the house. 

Mark looked at his sister and he, too, remembered the young boy she had been watching when he entered the house. Giving a fake cough to brake the comfortable silence that had lapsed over them, he said, "Well, I should probably go. You have that kid to look after."

"Right," Sam agreed. 

"But I will see you next week? That's still on. No babysitting?" Sam gave him one of her priceless smiles he had loved some much to see when he was upset. 

"Yes," Sam confirmed as she walked him to the door. 

"Then I'll see you next week." Mark bent down slightly and gave his older sister a tight huge and a quick peck on the check. 

"See ya," Sam said, bidding him farewell until the next time she would see him. With a sigh, she slowly closed the door and decided to go looking for wherever Jesse had found himself. 

"Hi," Sam called gently from the doorframe of the small TV room. It was furnished with two couches and a recliner placed specifically to see the large television, and a coffee table- used only by her team when they all came over to her house for 'team night'. 

Jesse looked up from his place on the couch with his feet resting on the coffee table. "Hi," he said, glancing back at the TV. "Did Mark leave?" Jesse asked; looking at her only after the question had been asked. 

"Yea, he just did."

"Oh," Jesse said with a nod. It wasn't that he _didn't_ want to spend time with the man it was just… he could, most likely, never tell him anything. Which meant he wouldn't know what to think of Jesse. 

"Whatcha watchin'?" Sam asked as she moved into the TV room and sat down on her recliner- the seat that she always got on 'team night'.

"I'm not sure. I think it's a soap opera. You see, those two, I think, were together. Then they broke up and the guy is getting married to that chick. Right there."

"Oh, ok."

"And now the ex is back and she's still in love with the guy… and so she hates the chick. And that, there in the hospital bed, he's supposed to die. At the moment he's in a coma from falling into the water off a bridge in his car."

"Ouch, that could hurt."

"Yea, so he was supposed to die. And now he's supposed to die in surgery but they're trying anyway. And that chick, walking in, she's his fiancée… but his parents hate her and they didn't want them to get married. Which was why he drove off the bridge-"

"He did it on purpose?" Sam asked, not taking her eyes off of the picture on the screen. 

"No, he was rushing to get her because they were going to elope. But it was raining and everything so he slid and fell off. And now she feels responsible," Jesse said, spilling everything he had gathered in his past twenty minutes of watching the extremely cheesy show. 

"Ah, who's that? The guy that just walked in?"

"Um, I think that's the doctor. But he knows those two from before. He's also the father of the other guy's ex. The one who is going to crash the other wedding."

Sam nodded and continued to watch. She had never gotten soap operas but that didn't matter. For some reason, she was strangely interested in watching the dumb show. 

**Jesse's Room**

__

A five-year-old boy hid underneath a large table. On the table were dozens of chemicals the red headed doctor had been working with. She, too, hid with him. She held him tightly to her, trying to hide him from the scary noises and shots being fired just outside their hiding place. 

The boy lifted his blonde head and listened to the people out in the hall. He heard many guards yelling at someone to not enter a room. At the same time, someone else- the boy assumed they were talking to- was speaking in a strange language. Not only that, but he had a computer-like sound to his deep voice. Without even seeing the man, he was immediately afraid of him. 

Suddenly, the door to the hiding place was swung open and bullets flew through the room. Jesse flinched inwardly as he heard glass shattering above them. He could tell that the bullets had hit many of the glass vials. 

With a painful wince, the five-year-old felt the skin on his right arm ripped open. Looking down at it, he saw shattered glass poking out of his flesh. It took a moment to register the burning in his arm for his eyes were focused on the gold liquid on his arm- some he could tell had entered the wound. Pulling out of the doctor's tight embrace, he tried to pull out the painful slivers of glass and stop the liquid. 

In the process, he had called attention to himself. The man who had entered his safe place grabbed his collar and picked him up until the small boy was eye level with him. An evil smile was plastered over his face as his eyes glowed yellow. 

With a start, Jesse's eyes snapped opened, his heart pounding in his ears. Shivering, he found that he had kicked off his blankets in the middle of the night. Pulling them back up to his bare chest, his ears finally registered the annoying sound in the background. 

Sitting up, he looked behind him to see that it was quarter after six and the set time for him to wake. Hitting the snooze button on the top of the alarm clock, he rubbed his face and tried to wake up. 

Swinging his legs over the bed, his dream came back to him. It was strange, just like the other memory of himself at that age. But, rather than dwelling on it, he forced himself to stand and walk over to his dresser. 

The previous day, after he and Sam watched the pathetic soap opera, the two had gone shopping and bought him a few things he would need. Picking out a pair of faded blue jeans and American Eagle shirt, he headed for the shower hoping to ride himself of the dream he had just had.

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

With a thud of Jack's jeep door, Jesse took his first step toward his new school: his old one. Looking at the tons of students waiting to enter, he found he recognized many as being his old friends and peers. 

Glancing back at his _father_, he gave a weak smile before Jack nodded and drove away. Jesse sighed; it would take some time to get use to his classmates not knowing who he was. Not to mention separating different things that happened in the new reality he found himself in. 

Walking away from the curb his _father_ left him at, he choose to head up the stairs and go to the counselor's office to get his locker number, combination, and homeroom. With a shrug of his shoulders, he adjusted the weight on his back caused by the few binders he had in his backpack. 

Taking time to observe the other children, he found at least twenty he knew. Pulling on the door, he forced it open. Surveying the foyer, he discovered it was identical to his school. The same mascot- a bull dog- hanging from the ceiling, the video camera taping everyone who entered the school, the entrance to the library at the back, and the stairs leading to the girls' gym. 

Moving farther into the building, he turned to his right and walked past the office. Continuing down, he past about twenty-five lockers before arriving at the right room. Looking inside the opened door, he stepped in and knocked on the wooden door, hoping to catch someone's attention. 

And it had worked. A tall, beautiful woman walked from the back room and looked up at the patiently waiting boy. She had long black curls with caring brown eyes. "Can I help you?" She asked, a smile on her face and her voice pleasant and musical. 

"Yes, I'm a new student here. Uh, Jesse O'Neill," Jesse told the gorgeous woman. 

"Oh, yes. I remember," the woman responded with a smile. Stepping forward, she extended her hand and introduced herself with, "I'm Miss Troi." 

Jesse gave a polite smile and took her offered hand. Shaking it with a tight hold. "It's nice to meet you." And Jesse was serious. He had never met her before. As far as he knew, she didn't exist in his reality. 

"I take it you want to know your locker number."

"Yes, ma'am," Jesse confirmed, moving with her as she pulled out the correct file folder. 

"I must admit it was odd having the US Air Force request the enrollment of a student. Especially one with no documentation of your previous schooling," Miss Troi chatted on, giving him a strange look as she flipped through his file. 

Jesse flinched inwardly, more afraid of her intense scrutiny than accidentally revealing something. "Yes, well… it was a different experience being raised by Air Force officers and home schooled," Jesse replied with a smile, recalling his cover story. 

"Uh-huh," was all Miss Troi said, seemingly not believing what he was telling her. "Anyway, this is you locker number: 1734. And here's you lock." Miss Troi handed him a new lock before saying, "The number on the tag is your combination."

Jesse looked down at the tag. It read as 23-29-19. With a discipline Jesse didn't know he possessed, he hid his smile for that was the same combo he had had in his reality. 

"And your homeroom is 131 with Mrs. Johnson. And your schedule," his new counselor said as she handed him a half a piece of thick paper. Jesse nodded as he looked over the schedule, marveling at how similar it was to his old one. "I was told you needed all advanced classes, correct?"

"Yes, yes, that's right," Jesse said without looking up. 

"Can you read it alright?"

"Yea," he told her, biting back another comment he knew was inappropriate. 

"Ok, if you'll follow me, I'll help you with your locker." With that statement, Jesse was led into the hall and toward his new locker. 

**Homeroom**

In his reality, Jesse had had Mrs. Johnson for a homeroom teacher only, last time, she had been in room 130- across the hall. But that didn't bother him too much, he just knew that he would have to hit himself a few times before he remembered to go in the right room. 

After getting his locker situated, he walked down the hall with his single binder and headed for Mrs. Johnson's room. The only reason Miss Troi not with him was because he had told her he wanted to try and find the rooms on his own. 

Peering inside, he found her sitting at her desk in the way back. She was looking down at something on her desk and hadn't noticed him at the door. Knocking, all she did was tell him, "Just as second."

Waiting, he looked the room over and saw that it was very similar to the previous one he had sat in only an hour before arriving in this reality. The desks were still in two rows facing the middle on each side of the room with a rectangular table in the center and her desk in the back. The chalkboards were in the front, as always, while the other walls were covered in pictures of people and places in history. 

Mrs. Johnson's head raised and she saw for the first time the young boy waiting at her door. "Yes?"

"Huh?" Jesse said, a little startled for he had not seen her raise her head. "Uh, I'm Jesse O'Neill, your new student."

"Oh, hello. I'm Mrs. Johnson," she told him, a smile on her face. Jesse smiled back at her, showing off his dimples. 

"This will be your seat for both homeroom and study hall," she announced, standing and putting her hand at the desk second to the end on the left side of the room. Jesse nodded and walked up to it, knowing the bell would be ringing soon to allow everyone in. Setting his books on the desk, he walked around it and sat down. 

"What period do you have Social Studies?" She asked, suddenly. 

Jesse looked up at her before pulling out his schedule and checking it over, just to make sure he didn't tell her the wrong period. "Um, fifth." She nodded and looked back at her calendar before writing something down. 

Turning back to her newest student, she asked, "What school did you go to before?"

Keeping his cool and not looking her in the eye for fear she would catch his lie, he said, "I was home schooled."

"Oh, why did you start public school in the middle of the year then?" She asked, not realizing that she shouldn't have asked something he wasn't directly told. 

"Um," Jesse stuttered, trying to think of something believable. "Well, it's a long story. To be honest, I really don't know. It's complicated." Jesse wasn't looking her in the eye, actually he was looking over his schedule. 

Before Mrs. Johnson could ask him anything else that he couldn't explain, the bell rang in its usual loud fashion and they both knew that the hundred or so students had begun to flow into the school. Jesse sighed and knew at least twenty other students would enter soon enough and the heat would only be half taken off of him. 

He had never been 'the new kid' in school but he remembered the tons they had gotten. He remembered how word of a new student went through the school like wildfire but no one ever used/ knew their name for weeks. He wasn't exactly happy about that applying to him. 

For a minute or so, the two sat in silence; Mrs. Johnson working on her schedule while Jesse sat, waiting, for someone to come in. For someone he recognized to come in and give him at least some comfort. As he thought that, watching the large door, his prayers were answered. 

Through the door walked the one person- besides his parents- he had longed to see. A beautiful young woman with her long, blonde hair and green eyes. With a smile and a quick hand through her long hair, she waved good-bye to her friend and walked into his homeroom. 

In his reality, they hadn't been in the first two classes together, but the rest they were. She also hadn't been in his homeroom. Through all the similarities and differences he had already discovered, he found that this difference was his favorite. He now knew she existed and was going to school with him. Now it was getting to know her all over again. To get _her_ to know him. That would be the hard part. 

With her effortless grace, she strolled over to her desk- in the middle of the first row on the other side of the room- and sat down. Placing her books to the side, she looked up at smiled at Jesse. Though she didn't know him, he knew that she was polite to everyone as long as she could stand him or her. 

Looking back down at her desk, she pulled out a sheet of paper from her notebook and wrote something down on it. The entire time, Jesse starred at her, completely enchanted. It had only been three days since he had last seen her but… it didn't feel like that. Perhaps it was because, deep down in his heart, he knew she was dead. Or, perhaps, there was something different about _this _Alyssa. He didn't know. All that he did know was…

More people had begun to fill the room at a steadier pace. Most of the desks were filled. Looking down, Jesse began to sense they were looking at him. It was an unnerving feeling; knowing all those eyes were on you. On the back of your head and starring into your soul. 

And, at that moment, Jesse knew it would be one long day. 

**SGC, Corridor**

The news of whom Jesse O'Neill was spread through the SGC like wildfire. By then, it was well known the kid had come through the quantum mirror from an alternate reality. In addition to that, it was also known that he was, in fact, the Colonel and Major's son from that reality. 

Lieutenant Jones shook his head with a smile. He had been hearing about all that for the past three hours: precisely how long he had been in the complex. At that moment, he was heading to the briefing room, finally going somewhere interesting. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School, Hallway, Before Ninth Period**

With a confident smile, Jesse strolled across the familiar halls with ease. His eyes were locked. Locked on their target: Alyssa. In his reality, he was forced to leave her. Leave her to die or be captured, he didn't know. But he knew that _his _Alyssa was dead. At least, like with his parents, he could have this Alyssa. 

Once he reached her, he leaned up against the unused lockers and said, "Hi." His voice, not as timid and shy as it had been the first time he met her, was warm and welcoming. 

"Hi," she responded, a little distracted with putting her books away. She glanced at him and smiled when she saw that it was him; the new boy who had been starring her the entire day. 

"Um, I was just wondering…" Jesse began, not knowing what else to say or how to start it. "Would you like to go out… or something?"

"I already have a boyfriend," Alyssa stated with a simple point of her pen behind him. Jesse's smile disappeared as he turned his head to look at another eighth grader. He was about 5'11" and had broad shoulders. His hair was light brown with blonde streaks and spiked up in a style Jesse discovered was very popular in this reality. Rather than seeing his shirt, all he could see was his red basketball jersey worn over top, matching with his blue jeans. 

At the moment, he was speaking with his friends, most also wearing jerseys. But- as if on command- he turned the second after Alyssa had pointed him out. He smiled sweetly at her, his green eyes catching hers as she waved at him. 

"See?"

Jesse turned back to her, a jealous look on the edge of breaking through his façade. With a shake of her head, Alyssa shut her locker door and brushed past him. Jesse merely watched her go, cringing at how radically different this world really was.

**Outside Colorado Springs Middle School**

Jesse waited patently on the stone steps, hoping his father would get there soon. Over the last hour of school, the last sixty minutes since he found out Alyssa already had a boyfriend, he had made other discoveries as well. 

His spot as Captain on the basketball team was taken. And taken by the same guy who had taken Alyssa: Shayn Lyons. After asking around, he gathered that Shayn was the top of the school and one of the most popular kids in the building. He was known and loved by all the teachers and was a straight A student. 

Shayn was like his counter part in this reality and it was more than annoying. He wanted his spot back. He wanted to go back to his home. Not the one he was forced to live in. But, of course, he would never vocalize these thoughts. He was truly grateful for what the Colonel and Major had done. He would never put down that. It was just… he wanted his home and his parents and his life back. 

Looking up from the dot on the stone, he saw his father's jeep pull up. Straightening, he hopped off of his temporary seat and walked down the steps to his transportation home. His transportation to his new home. The home he wanted nothing to do with but accepted and pretended to enjoy. 

"Hey. How was school?" Jack asked once Jesse was in. He shrugged but said nothing about it. "Oh, come on. I know something happened. What?"

Jesse just looked out the window and said, "Nothing. Nothing happened except… I relearned quite a few things I already know." 

Jack nodded and knew that he would get little else. It must have been awkward to go to a school filled with people you know when they don't know you. When they don't know who you are and think of you as a new kid while you know them. Not to mention all of the slight discrepancies he must have found. Discrepancies that he had to learn and remember so he did not make a fool of himself. 

**Jack's House**

From what Sam and Jack had managed to agree on, Sam would come to eat dinner with the two of them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays would be the days Jesse and Jack went to her house. Also, the two would alternate having Jesse at their houses on the weekends. 

Since it was Monday, Sam had come over to Jack's house. It was the first time Jesse had seen her all day and he was thrilled. Though the strange feeling had not gone away when she got near, he was learning to ignore it and was becoming accustom to it. 

Sam, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice it at all. She had had many encounters before, not to mention a constant companion, who caused that sickening feeling. One she had needed almost a year to get over. 

With a knock on the door, Sam had been let in by her son and led to the dining room where dinner was almost on the table. She had rarely been inside Jack's house, it was something they only did on Wednesdays, if they weren't on a mission, and it rotated houses. 

She looked around, remembering the last time she had been there. Their son was so intrigued by everything that he hardly noticed their existence. But now, he noticed. And noticed them both, at that. 

"Hey, Major?"

"You can call me Sam if you want," Sam offered, starting to find it strange to hear him saying "Major". 

"Alright," he said with a shrug. "Sam," he tried the name, playing with it on his lips and voice. With a smile he said, "Sam. I like that better than Major."

Sam grinned at him. "Me too."

"Ok, hot dinner coming through," Jack announced as he walked through the kitchen door and into the dining room with two steaming plates of spaghetti. "Hi, Carter. How are you?"

"Doing good, sir. Yourself?"

"Just fine," he responded as he went back into the kitchen to get the third plate. A few seconds later, he reentered the room to find them already sitting. "And, Carter, we're off duty. No, 'sir's at my house. Deal?"

Sam first gave him a shy grin at being caught using her habitual name for him. But, after a second of thinking, her grin changed to a slyer one and said, "Only if you don't call me 'Carter' off duty."

Jack mimicked her smile. He was surprised by her sudden proposal but, at the same time, he was interested in seeing what would happen if he did agree. "Deal."

Through the entire exchange, Jesse watched from his safe distance in his own chair. It was interesting how something that had turned into a nickname for the other was something that could so easily separate work from… well, not work. When the discussion finished with a 'deal', Jesse smiled to himself and began to eat his pasta. 

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Two questions. How did you like the school part? And what do you think happened to him when he was a kid? R/R and tell me or I'll never know. 


	6. Jones

Author's Note: My, such large reviews. I love it! Bit more reading but I do love to see them. 

In response to a review that will remain anonymous, yes nine periods. I know other places do it differently but up here in New York we have (at least in my area) nine forty minute periods with four minutes in between. I don't know if that's how it works in Colorado but… whatever. 

And, in response to another review, I am going to have a few more dreams that will explain more in the past. Hopefully you can understand them. 

Please enjoy and R/R. 

Summary: What started out as a regular day may turn to disaster. How does a simple Lieutenant threaten to start it all?

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Chapter Six:

Jones

**Colorado Springs Middle School, Lunch Room**

"May I sit with you?" Jesse asked, holding his tray in front of him as he looked down at the two occupants of the table. 

Alyssa looked up at the cute young man who had found his way to her table. She had already told her friend, Danielle, all about him and his asking her out. It was true, she was flattered by it, but she was already dating Shayn. 

Danielle looked over at her friend with a questioning look. Alyssa, for her part, was not looking at her but Jesse. "What's your name again?" She had asked. 

"Jesse… Jesse O'Neill."

"Alyssa Magee. This is Danielle Montgomery," Alyssa told him. 

"Yes, I know. I remember. Earth Science, right?" Jesse asked, knowing that she was in his class but playing like he had truly only been there twice. 

"Yea," Danielle said without giving him much thought and going back to her food. 

"So, can I sit with you or do I have to find an empty table again?" 

Alyssa looked up at the boy. He did not give up. "I have a boyfriend, remember?"

"Yes, but I didn't say anything about dating this time. I just want a place to sit and someone to talk to. A friend would be nice too but it's not mandatory. And, besides, I don't see him around." 

Alyssa smiled at his corny joke and nodded her head, gesturing to the seat next to her. "He's sitting with some of his other friends today."

"Thank-you." Taking his seat next to Alyssa, he picked up his school taco and took his first bit. Swallowing, he cringed at the awful edge all school food had. 

"School food isn't exactly the best, huh?" Jesse looked at Alyssa, the one who had voice the question. He looked at her for a moment, his brows creased. "I heard that you were home-schooled."

"Oh, right. I didn't know anyone… else knew." Taking a breath, Jesse looked away from her eyes and looked over at Danielle, who was now looking at him with intensely scrutinizing eyes. "Yea, you're right. This food sucks," Jesse stated as he moved his eyes away from Alyssa's friend. 

"That's why I bag my lunches," Alyssa stated. Jesse nodded as if logging it into his memory for future reference. 

Glancing over at Danielle, who was looking back at their Earth Science homework, Jesse found there were few differences. They both had shoulder length blonde hair, green eyes (similar to Alyssa's), and a paler complexion. But her behavior towards him was much different. It was obvious that she didn't like or, at least, trust him while his Danielle seemed to enjoy is presence. 

And then it hit him. She was dead too. Everyone was dead. Mrs. Johnson that he was currently being taught by, the kid who had "showed" him around the school, the annoying boy in the hall who existed in both realities. Everyone. 

Alyssa, who had caught Jesse starring, snapped her fingers in front of his face. Blinking, Jesse pushed back the frog in his throat and the tears he knew were slowly forming in his eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Yea," Jesse said, his voice cracking a bit and changing from its normal low to a higher pitch. Coughing, Jesse repeated, his voice normal, "Yea, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?" Danielle asked, deciding to pipe in and give Jesse a shot. 

"Nothing really. Just… you know, my friends from… where I used to live. You know." Jesse looked away from their suspicious eyes. 

"Yea, I guess moving from another state and into a school would be hard," Danielle said, her voice covered with disbelief. 

Alyssa gave her a stern looked and turned her attention back toward Jesse. Within the few minutes she had really given him a chance, she knew she liked him. He was a nice boy with, what she could see, was a strange and, perhaps, complicated life. 

She gave him a sympathetic smile and asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yea," Jesse said without looking up. "Just dandy." 

**P3X-9294**

There was only supposed to be wild and plant life on the newest planet Jones had found himself on. Not Jaffa and definably not Gou'ald. They had detected signs of other life, notably Jaffa, and had gone looking for them. 

Jones's team split up. He and his partner, Captain Miller, had gone looking through the right half of the forest while the other two on his team, Colonel Harris and Dr. Michaels, went in the opposite direction. 

That hadn't been a good idea. Miller quickly found the Jaffa… and his death. They had killed him on the spot with their staff weapons but took Jones prisoner for reasons beyond his comprehension. 

The two Jaffa easily took him with their two staff weapons and disarmed him; taking away his M-16, vest, and watch. He didn't understand it, but they always took the watch according to all of his friends. Immediately after he had been disarmed, they brought him aboard their ship. That's when he met his first Gou'ald. 

Jones had only heard storied in his short time working at the SGC. In his three months of going off world, he had always had the fortune of never meeting up with the Gou'ald much less being taken prisoner. But now he was. 

With his knees planted firmly on the ground and two Jaffa standing over him with their staff weapons at the ready, he was not about to get up. Looking up with his bruised right eye, he saw the egotistical man perched on top of his "throne". His outfit was long and flashy, fit for the stories he had heard of the man's species. 

With an air of self-importance, he stood and sauntered down the few stairs his throne was rested on to make others look up at him. With a malevolent grin, his eyes glowed in a manner, seemingly to make him fear the already daunting man. 

In his right hand was an object quiet important to Jones. An object he needed or escape was futile. His GDO. Without that, he couldn't get home… and the Gou'ald couldn't get in. They wanted the codes or to know how to work it or something so they could get through the Stargate. But they wouldn't get that from Jones. He wouldn't let them as long as he could. 

Walking right up to Jones and kneeling down to his level, the Gou'ald brought the object up to his face and waved it, menacingly, in front of the tired man. "How do you work this device to open the barrier on your Stargate?"

Just as every story he had ever heard, the man's voice was almost computer-like. It was a man's voice somewhere underneath all of the static like sounds corrupting it and causing it to sound alien. Jones flinched inwardly, the sound much worse to hear than it ever was in the stories. 

With a frustrated sigh at Jones's silence, the alien hollered at him, "I will give you one last chance, how do you work this machine!?" But Jones did not look at the yellow glow of his eyes nor the angry look he possessed. He merely starred forward, praying for his life to end quickly- a death he was less then ready for but prepared to do if it saved his world. 

The impatient Gou'ald let out a growl of frustration and yelled, "You will pay for your impudence, Tau'ri!" The Gou'ald turned his back on the internally frightened Human, his mind thinking of a way to make him talk. 

"Shall I get rid of him, My Lord?" Asked the Gou'ald's First Prime.

The Gou'ald stayed quiet for a moment, neither confirming nor denying the request. Then, with a sudden twist, he was again facing the Human, his eyes glowing with anger. "No, I have a better idea. One that he can't resist talking to me."

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

"Hey! You're Jesse O'Neill, right?" A boy, Jesse had learned was Shayn, asked as he jogged up to his side. "Shayn Lyons," the boy introduced himself, putting his hand out for Jesse to take. 

Jesse took it, only out of courtesy, and replied, "I know. I've heard from… people."

"Yea, well… I saw you talking to Alyssa yesterday."

"So? We're, ah, in some classes together. I was asking about… a homework assignment," Jesse made-up, hoping Alyssa hadn't told him about their earlier encounter. 

"Yea, whatever. I just wanted to say… she's my girl. Ok?" Jesse looked at the pitifully jealous and possessive face he had. 

Hearing the gym teacher's whistle, he turned and saw the basketball in his hands. Jesse smiled and looked back at Shayn with an unbridled expression. "Whatever." Jesse walked away and headed for where the teacher was. 

"Today," he began, his voice echoing throughout the gymnasium. "We will be playing basketball. On the right side is one-on-one. Two-on-two is the left side. And knock out is in the middle."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Shayn heading for the middle court with his friends. Jogging over to him, Jesse held out a hand and said, "Care to try your luck against me?"

Shayn grinned and looked over at his friends, who were also smiling. "I guess."

Standing facing the basket, Jesse began dribbling the worn ball. He watched Shayn through annoyed eyes. Jesse readied himself to start moving when Shayn's smile grew. 

"I should warn you, I am Captain of the basketball team."

Jesse's own smile appeared when he retorted, "Not a problem." At that moment, he faked left and ran straight down the court. With an elbow in Shayn's ribs, Jesse took a shot at the hoop and made the ball fall in. 

Grabbing the ball as it fell out of the net, Jesse tossed it at Shayn and said, "Your ball."

By then, Shayn was glaring angrily at him with more ferocity than Jesse thought possible. Shayn dribble the ball back to the foul line, serving as the half line- eyeing Jesse with suspicion. 

"First to ten," he said before making his way to the basket. Trying at his own hook shot, Jesse hit the ball out of the air and ran with it back to the foul line. 

**P3X-9294**

Colonel Harris and Dr. Michaels had been looking everywhere for their two companions after finding nothing of the Jaffa. Heading in the area they thought the two to have scouting, they found the dead body of Captain Miller discarded in the leafy, muddy ground. But Jones was nowhere in sight. 

Continuing their search for the new Lieutenant, they finally heard a groan twenty meters ahead of them. Running up to find the source, the pair found the young man laying face first in the soil. 

"Lieutenant!" Colonel Harris shouted as he slid down to the ground and at the man's side. "Lieutenant! Can you hear me?" 

Another groan escaped his lips and he turned his head to open his eyes. "Colonel?"

"Yes, Jones, it's me. What happened?" The Colonel asked as he helped the man to turn over and sit up. 

"Um, me and… me and Miller were, uh, looking. We split up a bit to cover more ground. I heard a staff blast and ran back to see what had happened. All of a sudden I was hit was a zat… gun. What… what happened to Miller?"

"He's dead kid," the Colonel informed the man, his voice somber. Jones's head dropped so his chin hit his chest. "I'm sorry."

"Yea."

"We should get back before they do," Dr. Michaels said, her handgun out as kept an eye on the surrounding area. 

"Right. You think you can walk?"

"Yea." Harris stood and extended his hand to help the Lieutenant up. With shaky legs, he walked with them toward the Stargate, a hidden smile covering his face. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Jesse was starting to feel like he had a serious medical problem. It seemed that almost every day he was in the SGC's infirmary. And, every time, he gave blood to the doctor for farther tests. He didn't know what they expected to find but they seemed to think something was special about it. 

At that moment, Jesse was waiting for Dr. Fraser and his parents to return from the lab with his latest in test results. It seemed that they had expected something… more from him but he didn't know what. But, maybe, they were just trying to find more conclusive evidence about what happened to him to make him get a Gou'ald inside him. 

Jesse looked over to his left, hearing sounds of the cabinet rattling. Standing in front of an opened drawer was an average sized thirty-year-old. His longer brown hair seemed to get in his eyes as he tried to find what he was looking for. Watching, Jesse saw his hand move inside the compartment and remove something before placing it into his pocket. 

Finally realizing that he was under the curious eye of someone, the man turned to find Jesse sitting on his bed, watching his movements with a confused interest. Jesse gave a slight smile when he identified him as the man who allowed his mother to catch up to him: Lieutenant Jones. 

The Lieutenant gave a malevolent grin, his eyes equally as evil. Jesse's first instinct was to shy away from the man and find Dr. Fraser. Nervously, his spun his head to look over his shoulder, hoping Janet would return and send the man away. 

When he looked back, Jones's face had calmed and became more "soldier-like". His eyes no longer held the same glint that had scared Jesse so much. Hoping his imagination was getting the better of itself, Jesse scolded himself and tried to shake the feeling something was seriously wrong. But the growing sickening feeling in his stomach was telling him otherwise. 

Jones slowly approached the young child, his stance less frightening and commanding. "Hi, kid. Still hanging around here?" Jesse just shrugged; refusing to met the man's eyes. "Ah, come on. You can't be that mad at me for gettin' ya caught." Jesse listened closely to the man and noticed a small southern cadence to his voice, something he hadn't heard before. 

Jesse shrugged again, finally looking up at the man. "What are you doing here?"

Jones smiled at the fact Jesse was finally speaking to him. "Oh, I just finished my post-mission exam."

"You have to have one of those after every mission?" Jesse asked, finally on a topic he truly wanted to hear rather than everything else going on around him.

"Yea, otherwise… you may bring back a virus or disease and… release it into the public," Jones told him, seeming to have a hard time explaining a simple thing such as that. 

"Oh. You know, no ones ever really explained the whole concept of the… Stargate. What is it?" Jesse asked having been wanting to know for some time. 

"The Ch-Stargate, well, it creates a… wormhole that can send someone from one Stargate to another," Jones told him. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Would you like to go see it?"

"I… I don't think I'm supposed to. Besides, Dr. Fraser's is going to be back with my lab test any minute," Jesse told him, making up whatever excuse to stay out of trouble. It wasn't that he didn't take chances or like to goof around in class it was just… that was school and this… well this wasn't. 

"Ah come one. You're with me, right? I can easily get in. You can have a peak at it. They won't mind," Jones assured him. 

Jesse looked back at the curtains Janet had disappeared through only seconds before. She had said that she would be at least fifteen minutes, he reasoned with himself. He could get a quick look and then get back before she finished. 

"Alright," Jesse said, his voice not nearly as excited as he thought it would be. 

"Come on then," Jones beckoned him, helping him off the bed.

**SGC, 'gate Room**

Jesse watched as Jones slid his card through the slot. With that simple movement, the large doors opened, permitting access to the room for the two men. Jesse's first look inside was enough to purge any feeling of fear of being caught somewhere he knew he shouldn't have been. 

Jones gestured for him to follow him inside the room standing over three floors high. The room was dull grey and browns mixed with the occasional green or black and lit poorly; just like all the other rooms. But, this one, was different somehow. Jesse guessed it was because of the large circular object in the middle of the room. 

It looked like a large stone hollowed in the middle. Symbols- appearing to be hieroglyphics- were carved onto the inner ring of the artifact. He couldn't tell, but he counted about thirty or so symbols. Continuing to stare at it, the feeling he only sensed while near Sam, Teal'c, and, now, Jones, grew in the pit of his stomach. 

Jesse's eyes hadn't moved from the beautiful object. Which was why his eyes caught the inner circle- the one carved with the symbols- move and spin. It stopped and turned the other way only to stop and move the other way as if spin in a combination. The machine did so seven times before Jesse was amazed more than he though possible. A large, blue wave seemed to emanate from the empty middle before spilling back into the circle, leaving what seemed like the surface of water. 

Jesse was so engulfed in watching the Stargate, he never noticed the ten or so MP's draw their guns and wait expectantly for the iris to shield the water and whom ever it was to walk through. Nor had he noticed Jones leaving him just before the wormhole had been activated. 

Spinning on his heels, Jesse finally saw that Jones was not there. Looking up through the glass windows of the control room, he saw three people slumped over their computers. His eyes widened, unsure if they were dead or merely unconscious. Not to mention who had done it. What had done it. 

At that second, Jesse felt an arm wrap around his stomach and pull him up close to another body. Feeling the pressure on his neck, he knew whoever it was, was pointing a gun directly at his artery. 

His heart beating fast and his breathing no longer controllable, his ears heard a computer-like voice shout, "Flinch and he dies." The voice sounded like Jones, but it was obviously not. The guards had turned their attention to the pair, but scarcely breathed for fear the man would do as he had said. 

Feeling his captor beginning to move, Jesse was forced to walk backward toward the Stargate. Just a moment before his feet were being forced up steps, Jesse heard a clatter and knew he was about to walk down the ramp leading directly into the Stargate's mouth. 

Cringing, Jesse knew many- including his parents- had traveled through the device, but it scared him anyway. The intimating height and stance of the object was enough to frighten him alone but it was more what it did. Jesse was a smart kid and, from both his mother and father, had been taught some basic physics which included knowledge of wormholes. He knew that it would scatter his molecules and put them back together within a few milliseconds. And that was a strange thought. 

Suddenly, Jesse felt the second strangest feeling in a week and knew he had entered the wormhole.

**SCG, Control Room**

The klaxons blared through the halls of the SCG as Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill ran for the control room, curious as to what was happening. Once there, they found at least fifteen techs either unconscious or just awakening. From what, they would probably never know. 

"Sergeant?!" O'Neill yelled out to the poor man who had been through so much in his many years working at the mountain and was now struggling to wake himself. 

"Colonel?"

"What happened?" Carter asked as she ran to the computer, trying to find out what had been going on in her absence. 

"I'm… I'm not sure. Someone can in here and… injected us. I don't remember after that. I'm sorry," the man apologized as he straightened his glasses and headset. 

"It's ok," Jack mumbled as the General walked down from his office, just as interested in what happened. 

"Sergeant?" Was all he got out before the Stargate started to shake and dial itself. 

"Incoming wormhole," the tech announced as the whoosh of the wormhole was seen by the room. "Tok'ra IDC."

"Open the iris," the General announced. Almost the moment it did, a man wearing Tok'ra clothing stepped through. He looked up through the glass windows, letting the people see who he was: Jacob Carter. Immediately, they were down the stairs and she was embracing her father. 

"We have a problem," Jacob told them without preamble once he had let go of his daughter. "A Gou'ald by the name of Horus."

"Sir," one of the MP's yelled, gaining the attention of the four superior officers in front of him. 

"What is it, Lieutenant?" General Hammond asked, not too pleased by having his conversation interrupted. 

"The boy, he was taken through the Stargate by Lieutenant Jones at gun point. The Lieutenant threatened to kill him if we interfered." Before he was interrupted, he said, "But that's not all, sirs… his voice…" The Lieutenant shook his head and finished, "He was Gou'ald."

Both Jack and Sam looked at each other, fearful for their newfound _son_. It was bad enough that they had put him at risk by bringing him to the facility but now this. He had even told them about his real father's warnings to never have him be known by the Gou'ald. 

"What boy?" Jacob asked. 

"Long story, dad. We'll tell you later. Do you think that this Gou'ald could have been Horus?" Sam asked her father, wondering what was going on around her. 

"That's what I was going to tell you. This Gou'ald captured one of your officers and took him as his new host. Our person on the inside said they saw it happen. They assumed it to be a way to get inside the SGC," Jacob told them, his expression grave. 

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Oh, this could be bad. Yes, just maybe. Now what will SG-1 do? R/R and tell me how you think of everything so far… please?


	7. Rescues and Ulterior Motives

Author's Note: Sorry this one's late, I kept forgetting to post it. Sorry. Thanks to all those who did review, I hope you continue to enjoy and R/R. 

Summary: As the SGC mounts a rescue operation to get Jesse back, what other reasons might there be? And will it be too late for Jesse?

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Chapter Seven:

Rescues and Ulterior Motives

Jesse tried to keep his balance as the Lieutenant continued to pull him through the amazing machine. But, in the end, he fell into the man's arms and used his broad chest to keep from falling onto the ground upon exiting the wormhole. 

The moment Jesse knew his feet were back on real ground and his entire body was out of the wormhole, the shinning blue light disappeared before his eyes. With its middle gone, Jesse could see beyond the Stargate. Out there were trees. Hundreds of thousands of trees that surrounded the metallic circle. 

With a violent shove, the Lieutenant spun Jesse around until he was facing him. Jesse could then see the ten other people waiting for the two arrivals. They all looked a lot like Teal'c: muscular, tall, had broad shoulders, something tattooed onto their foreheads, and gave him the same strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wished that it would go away but, with all the people around him causing it, the feeling only intensified. 

One of the men, who was dressed in loud, clanky armor and held a long stick Jesse assumed was a weapon, walked up toward the pair. The moment his feet hit the stone steps, a familiar noise emanated from his walking. The noise, Jesse recognized, was the same he had heard coming from one of the realities the mirror had showed him. No wonder his father had been so urgent about switching the mirror to another reality. 

The man took a hold of the young teenager, grabbing an arm in his one strong hand. Jesse knew that struggling against the man would have been futile: he was too big and strong for him to even imagine being a match for and thus he wouldn't bother trying. 

"Jaffa, kree. Bi'bo Tau'ri nai Ha'tak." 

Jesse listened to the words come out of Lieutenant Jones's mouth but didn't understand a word of them except "Jaffa" and knew he was now dealing with the Gou'ald. That he was their prisoner. And at their mercy. Something he had been told by his father could never happen. But it had. 

"Kel'sha." Jesse barely heard the reply but felt himself being pushed somewhere. Somewhere away from the Lieutenant with the strange voice and toward somewhere else: somewhere with Jaffa and Gou'ald. 

Jesse was forced further into the forest and to where five trees formed into a circle. The minute the two stood in the center of it, strange rings came out of the ground and engulfed them. Once the rings reentered the ground, Jesse found himself, not in the forest, but in a room covered in gold. All over the walls, hieroglyphs spelled out many stories. Of what, he didn't know. 

Without considering Jesse's curiosity, the guard roughly pulled him out of the room and down a long, golden hall. The walls, too, were engraved with hieroglyphs. Again, the meanings eluded him, but it was something to think about rather than what his fate would be. Rather than what the two had discussed. 

He was brought to a cell, almost five meters by five meters. The guard savagely shoved him inside and allowed the cell door to close. Jesse looked up from his spot on the ground and watched the door slide closed. 

Bowing his head in defeat, Jesse sighed for knew that he wouldn't get out. It was useless to try; he didn't know how to get back to the forest with the Stargate. Even if he could get there, he didn't know how to work the 'gate. He would have to wait. Wait for what? He didn't know. Perhaps rescue. Perhaps death. Or, perhaps, nothing. 

**SGC, Briefing Room**

"So, what's been going on around here that I missed?" Jacob asked as he, Sam, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, and General Hammond all worked their way into the briefing room. 

"Well, about six years ago on P3R-233, Daniel accidentally stumbled onto a mirror that can send you to other realities. It was shipped to Area 51 for further study. Then, about a week ago, an unauthorized activation of the mirror was reported. Security was then tightened. Four days ago, that security discovered a young boy who had used the mirror."

Sam paused there, looking to the other members of her team for help. "Ah, he said he was sent through to save him from the immediate threat of Gou'ald invasion," Daniel finished, leaving out the more interesting part. 

"And, this boy, how old is he?" Jacob asked, confused and pressed for time. 

"Fourteen," Jack answered without looking up from his doodling. Looking up, he saw that Sam was giving him a strange look. Shrugging at her, he said, "What? We talked." Sam nodded, understand that it was probably a part of their many ice-breaking conversations. 

"Then he may yet be old enough, by Horus's opinion, to be taken as a host. We have an operative inside Horus's Ha'tak. He was able to get us some basic intel: where the rings are and what planet he's orbiting for the moment. It's a planet you call P3X-9294." 

**P3X-9294**

With his gun aimed directly in front of him, Jack stepped out of the Stargate's aventurizen. Looking around the area, he saw nothing- just as Jacob said they would. Walking down the stone steps, he heard the distinct sound of four others exiting the Stargate behind him. Half-ignoring them, he moved closer toward the DHD. 

"Jack! This way," Jacob called to get the Colonel's attention as he pointed to the left of the Stargate. 

"Ah, yes. I know that," Jack retorted, dryly, prior to joining the others at the edge of the tree line. 

Finally taking the time to look over the territory, Jack noticed that, where the Stargate had been placed, was a small clearing surrounded by trees. Hundreds of gigantic green trees all different sizes and types. 

Being brought farther and farther into the forest, Jacob motioned for them to stop and get down about fifteen meters away from five Jaffa, all guarding an individual tree. The strange thing about the trees was that they had grown in a large circle; nothing was in the middle. 

"According to our intel, there's a ring device in between those five trees. Most likely what they're guarding," Jacob explained, his voice hushed to keep the Jaffa from hearing him. 

"And once we're up there? Anyone guarding it there?" Jack asked. 

"I don't think so. Our spy said there are only five guards needing to be taken out. I'm assuming these are the five he was talking about." Jack nodded. Five against five, not too bad of odds. They've handled worse. 

With a few quick signals, Jack told Sam- who stood just away from the group- to move further down and around the trees in order to get a better shot at the guards on the other side of the rings. Simultaneously, Jack began to move the opposite way for the same reason. Teal'c, Jacob, and Daniel all readied themselves and spread out to get good shots at the other three Jaffa. 

Two shots rang out from Jack's M-16 followed by the sound of a Jaffa's armor hitting the ground. While the other four Jaffa looked around in confusion, the rest of SG-1 took the time to fire at their targets. Within a span of thirty seconds, one staff blast, four shots from two zat guns, and multiple M-16 shots were heard before four Jaffa fell to the ground. All dead. 

**Horus's Ship, Prison**

Jesse's mind was spinning with fear. He had no idea what they would do with him. What they wanted with him. Why they wanted him. All those things were enough to send anyone over the edge with fear. 

At that moment, the door slid open, making Jesse jumped in all his anxiety. Through it walked two Jaffa, both he recognized from before. They each grabbed an arm and pulled him from his seat on the ground. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. 

For a minute or so, they dragged him down long hallways; turning and twisting in a maze of gold and symbols. None of the writing made any sense to the boy who was barely a man. He could pick out a few here and there, but, without the other words, it made no difference to him. 

Jesse was brought to a large, golden room, panted in bright, flashy colors and many shades of gold. A perfect throne room for a 'god'. Looking to the back of the room, Jesse saw Jones sitting on a throne-like alter. 

The airman no longer wore the boring uniform Jesse recalled. Instead, this new Jones was clad in long, flowing robes made of colorful material that could easily match any tapestry or color in his throne room. 

Jones looked down at the boy as if he meant nothing in to his great plan. But, then, he smiled his eerie smile and his eyes changed to show how much he enjoyed his new 'toy'. Jesse swallowed his fear and ego while trying to replace it with false bravado. But the best he was able to manage was a straight, impassive face. 

**Horus's Ship, Ring Room**

Five figures stood still as their bodies where transported to Horus's ship far in the atmosphere of the planet they had previously inhabited. Once they were able to move once again, four of the five figures held up their weapons; readying themselves for any type of battle that might ensue from their arrival. 

Jack scanned every inch of his corner the moment he was able to see anything but light. Nothing. There were no shots being fire. Meaning nothing. Nothing, no one was there in that room. Too easy. Jack looked over his shoulder to where the door was a walked over to it, his weapon ready to attack anyone that may enter. 

"So, Jacob, where would they bring the kid?" Jack asked, looking back over at Sam's dad at the same moment he bowed his head and Jack knew what was coming. 

"We must apologize for not telling you sooner, but," Jacob began to say, his voice an exact duplicate of the Gou'ald's voice, telling the other four that it was truly Selmak who was speaking. 

"There's always a 'but' with you guys, isn't there?" Jack interrupted, his annoyance not hidden from his tone. 

Selmak started speaking again, almost as if he never heard the Colonel's sarcastic repartee, "Horus has been operating in secret here for almost a year… working to perfect a… disease. One that he could use to infect either Gou'ald or Tok'ra and kill off everyone. Our operative has told us much about it… but he has not been able to sabotage it past delaying something a few hours or days."

"Lemme guess, you want us to steal this thing so you guys can work on it and kill the Gou'ald," Jack retorted. 

"Precisely. Then destroy the lab, leave little for him to start with."

"So, your saying that Horus has created something like what you wanted me to use on the Gou'ald at Summit, right?" Daniel asked. 

"It is similar but much different. This is… like a virus. Once the symbiote cannot detect nor stop. If one Gou'ald gets it, the virus will slowly kill off the symbiote until it detects multiple symbiotes in the area. At that moment, it will spread rapidly to all the others. Each one of them will then carry the virus and pass it on many times before ultimately dying from it."

"Well, that was morbid," Jack commented as he looked over the door in an attempt to figure out how to open it.

"If we could possess this, then we could wipe out the Gou'ald and their Jaffa," Sam stated, understanding what the positives and negatives of this thing were.

Jack thought it over for a second before saying, "Alright, Carter, you and your dad should go look for this _virus_. You'll know what to look for. The rest of us will try to find Jesse."

**Horus's Ship, Corridor**

As father and daughter worked their way down one of the long, gold plated corridors, they heard the sounds of unwanted Jaffa moving closer to their position. Moving to hide behind one of the many walls, they watched the party turn the corner and head in the same direction Sam and Jacob had been going in. As the two continued to watch, they saw the large group head into a room. There seemed to be something going on in there for, when the door was open, they could see masses of Jaffa inside. 

Sneaking forward, the pair hid behind the open door and listened in to what was happening. Most was spoken in Gou'ald, but Sam managed to catch a little. Reminding herself to get lessons from Daniel, she scanned over the room and found one of their two targets. 

Jesse was in the far back with the airman who had been taken as Horus's new host. From what Sam could gather, Horus had discovered that the child was special. Both from whom his parents were and something else Sam couldn't understand. He seemed to be telling them that he would be the next host to one of his Gou'ald so he could learn his secrets. 

Watching Jesse's face, she knew he was close to tears but covering it well. The feeling of all the Gou'ald symbiotes around him most have been overwhelming for someone who was just getting used to one or two; Sam could relate. But, combined that with everything else going on and how he knew nothing of Gou'ald, he must have been scared out of his mind. 

Suddenly, Horus's hand shot up and his ribbon device activated. The two Jaffa standing next to Horus and Jesse, grabbed the boy before he fell and carried him over to a long, colorful table. It reminded Sam of the table Jack had been put on when Hathor's symbiote was implanted in him. 

She shuttered as she realized what was going to happen next. Horus bent down and whispered something into Jesse's ear just before a Jaffa placed the symbiote on his chest. Horus straightened and took Jesse's chin in his hand. Whipping his head to the left, the symbiote dug into his tender skin with a single loud scream from Jesse.

**Horus's Ship, Corridor**

With stealth Jack O'Neill had learned from years of Black-Ops, he worked his way through the Gou'ald ship. Following close behind him was the rest of his half of the team. Teal'c moved with ease through the corridors for he had become quite accustom to them in his years of service to the false gods. But Daniel, he had learned in his sixish years on SG-1 to be quite; stealthy was something completely different all together. 

Working their way down the hall, Jack stopped at the first door they had seen. It had been fifteen minutes since the team split up and that was the first door they had seen. Which meant it was worth checking out. 

Standing on either side of the large, intimidating door, Daniel turned the symbol and moved away as the door opened. Teal'c and Jack spun and pointed their weapons inside, ready to attack anyone in there. But there was no one inside. It was as if everyone was somewhere else. Rather than questioning their good fortune, the trio walked inside and looked around. 

"Bingo," Jack said as he looked around the large lab. It was obvious this was the room Sam and Jacob were supposed to be looking for. 

"I guess we got here before them," Daniel commented, seeing that they were neither there nor was there any damage to the room. 

"Really? Get to work, take whatever documents you think necessary," Jack ordered and stood guard at the closed door. 

**Horus's Ship, Implantation Room**

Jesse watched Jones bend down until his mouth was at his ear. He could smell his breath; dry and without a brush in days. "Do not be afraid. It doesn't hurt… much," was all he said, his voice smiling his spine-chilling smile for him. 

He felt Jones's hand with the strange device settle on his chin. He no longer had the energy to move or fight like he would have if it wasn't for that strange contraption. One of his Jaffa approached. In his hand was the most hideous looking snake Jesse had ever seen in his life and he had seen an awful lot of snakes before. It snapped its four teeth and waved its wings around like it was so special and all-powerful. 

Without warning, Jones forced his chin to the left. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. He screamed. He couldn't help it. But the moment he stopped, he wouldn't let himself do so again. His jaw clamped itself together and his muscle tightened in pain. 

"My Lord!" Jesse heard one of the Jaffa yelled but did not bother to try and look. His mind was already occupied. He felt as if something was trying to take over his mind and he wouldn't allow it. He couldn't.

**Horus's Ship, Science Lab**

Daniel scurried around the lab he knew Sam would love to get her hands on as he searched for anything that seemed of value. He had found two Gou'ald Tablets and decided that they were 'important'. 

Shoving everything into his backpack, he watched as Jack and Teal'c placed C-4 wherever they thought was 'strategic'. Picking up the heavy pack, Daniel buckled it back up to his vest and walked to the door as he waited for them to finish. 

Once they had set at least six charges throughout the room, they followed Daniel's lead and walked through the door before it was closed. Once outside of the room, Jack pulled out the detonator and pushed the button. A satisfying explosion was heard; muffled by the closed door. Jack tossed the hand held detonator across the room and heard the thunk as it hit the wall. 

"Let's get back," Jack told them as they headed for the ring room. Bringing the walkie-talkie closer to his mouth, Jack said, "Sam, come in," into it. When there was no response, he repeated his words, this time with more urgency. 

Nothing. Looking over at the other two, they knew what must have happened. Jack again pushed the button and called, "Jacob, come in. Jacob!" But there was still nothing. "Shit," he stated and he let go of the useless piece of machinery.

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

Sam and Jacob had been caught only seconds after the Gou'ald was implanted in Jesse. They had decided to leave and keep trying their luck and then they'd go back after Jesse. But they hadn't gotten far. The next thing they knew, they were inside a small cell. It was the same gold and vivid coloration that they had seen lining the walls in the many long corridors. 

Without any equipment, it would have been impossible to escape at that moment. Hopefully, the other three would have some luck at finding one or both of what they had come to get. Either would make Sam happy. But, at that moment, it looked like they would never get the real Jesse back. 

The solid gold wall at least an inch thick began to open. The minute it had risen to its full height, a boy was tossed through and the airman, Sam remembered as Lieutenant Jones, walked in. He grabbed the side of her shirt and forced her to feet. 

His eyes glowed in a menacing yellow before his computer like voice yelled, "You knew this would happen! You knew I would take him as my son's first host and he would die! You knew it!"

Sam starred blankly at the enraged Gou'ald. She had no idea what he was talking about. She looked over at the limp body they had brought back and immediately recognized him as Jesse. He seemed unconscious but alive. From the sounds of it, it also seemed like he was free of his Gou'ald. 

"Answer me!" Horus screamed, his eyes once again glowing. 

Sam looked back at the man who was shaking her. "I don't know what you're talking about." With a frustrated sigh, he dropped her and turned. With an air of egotism, he walked out of the small cell and let the door close the three in. 

The moment the door had closed, Sam was at Jesses's side. Turning him over, she helped him into a more comfortable position. When she moved him, he began to resurface into consciousness. 

Forcing his heavy eyelids open, he looked up into the blue eyes of his mother. Everything around him was too blurry to make out properly. He couldn't tell where he was or what had happened. He just knew that his mother was there with him and would make everything ok. 

"Mom?"

Sam looked down at the scarred young man. Confusion covered his eyes and she knew that he must have been extremely out of it. "Shh, it's ok. I'm right here." She knew that he was not very comfortable with calling _her_ mom and understood his need for her at that moment. 

Jacob watched the entire exchange from a fair distance. The first time he had seen the boy, he looked too much like his daughter to deny it. But, at that moment, it was confirmed. Neither Sam nor Jack had wanted to talk about it but, he knew, the kid was theirs in whatever reality he had existed in before.

**Horus's Ship, Pel'tak**

Horus sat in his chair in the center of the Pel'tak. It was on a slight slant, again something that made all of his Jaffa and anyone else have to look up at him. He liked it there. It gave him just that much more feeling of power. 

Horus watched the planet below him as he thought. Thought about the two Tau'ri his Jaffa had found and were keeping prisoner. He knew the one to be Major Carter. Which meant that SG-1 was somewhere around. If that were the case, they would try to get to the prisoners and then head for the planet. To the Stargate. 

A smile crossed his features as a plan entered his mind. He would let the Colonel get his beloved Major, the Tok'ra, and the boy back. Or he would let him think that he had. 

"Jaffa, kree. Jankin Jaffa Rin'tel'noc Tau'ri. Rin Chaapa'ai," Horus told his Jaffa in a Gou'ald tongue. 

"Kel'sha," the Jaffa responded and went to do as he had been told. 

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Hmm, I wonder what he said? And that's actually a close approximation of the Gou'ald language they have used on the show. It's as close as it gets, anyway. So, please R/R and tell me how much you liked it or didn't… I do love feedback. 


	8. Failed Attempts

Author's Note: Hi, again! I know you've all been dying for this chapter. So, here it is. Thanks to all who reviewed. Enjoy and please R/R.

Summary: As Jesse's condition grows worse, can the rest of SG-1 save him?

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Chapter Eight:

Failed Attempts

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

Jesse, for the most part, had remained unconscious. But, while awake, he was delusional. He would continue to mumble about whatever, completely in a fret, until Sam could once again calm him down into a quiet slumber. Once asleep, his dreams were obviously troubled and confused for he would moan and fight off Sam as she tried to help. 

He also had a dangerously high temperature and was sweating badly from it. Sam was worried for something was going on in his body. It seemed likely that he was rejecting the symbiote and that was his body's way of doing so. 

What Sam couldn't understand, though, was how. She was beginning to understand he had gotten his protein marker when his body had fought off his last Gou'ald symbiote. She also assumed that his gift of having a defense against the Gou'ald was why his father wanted him to never encounter them: it would be and was dangerous. 

Sam sighed and leaned back against the wall. She couldn't help him, not even to make him more comfortable. At that moment she was a prisoner of a Gou'ald. The other three members of her team didn't even know where she was, as far as she knew. And her son was dying. 

"How is he?" Sam's father's voice startled her. Neither of them had spoken in some time and she had almost forgotten he was there. 

"Not good. His fever's high. He's needs medical attention or he… he might die," Sam said, looking at her hands. 

Jacob slid closer to his daughter. It was obvious to him that she had formed a close bond to the child she could biologically call her son. She was hurting by the fact that he was in pain, perhaps dying.

"Kids are resilient little things. They bounce back all the time. He'll fight. If he's anything like his parents, he'll fight," Jacob stating, the only words he could think of that would mean anything to her. 

Sam looked at her father and gathered that he had caught onto who his parents were in his reality and the fact that the two had taken on the same role in theirs. Then she smiled, weakly, at the fact that it didn't seem to bother him. And, by the look he was giving Jesse, she knew that he was starting to accept his role in Jesse's new life. 

**Horus's Ship, Corridor**

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c all moved quietly down the still deserted halls. No one seemed to be around. But, to them, that was a good thing. It meant that they could sneak around without getting caught or risk exposing themselves. 

The three men may have been on dozens of Gou'ald mother ships before but the one they were on at that moment took the cake. Its halls and corridors twisted and turned for no known reason while all of them were covered in gold and colorful tapestries. Jack would never understand the Gou'ald. 

After some time of snooping around, they finally found what they were looking for. A number of cells were hidden behind walls and tapestries that only added to the confusion. If it wasn't for Daniel checking one out, they never would have found them. 

They went to each individual cell, looking for their teammates. But only one cell was occupied. The last one where they found Sam huddled over Jesse, who was yelling about something, while Jacob stood back and watched. 

Immediately, Jack slammed a fist on the control pad and waited impatiently until it opened far enough for him to duck under. In an instant he was at Sam's side, helping to calm the frantic boy. 

"Sam, what's wrong?" Jack asked, his attention focused on Jesse. 

Sam, ignoring the fact that she was rescued, told him, "He was implanted with a Gou'ald symbiote. But his body seems to be rejecting it." 

At that moment, Jack looked at her in disbelief. "Is that even possible?"

Sam looked at him as well. Her eyes burned holes into his as she tried to find an answer to his question. "I don't know. But I do know that he needs medical attention. We have to get him back to the base."

Without hesitation, Jack took Jesse's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. Then he slid his own arm underneath Jesse's back and lifted the young man off the ground. Once Jack was on his feet, Jesse's hung about an inch or so off the ground. 

"Teal'c, a little help here," Jack said to the stoic Jaffa standing guard at the door. Teal'c turned and raised an eyebrow at seeing the fragile boy hanging now limp in his CO's grasp. "Teal'c."

Handing his staff weapon to Jacob, Teal'c put one arm under Jesse's knees and then another on his back. In one swift motion, Jesse was no longer in Jack's hold but in Teal'c's arms being held like a baby. 

"Well, that'll work," Jack stated as he turned away from Teal'c. "Come on." 

Once again the halls were completely bare of life. No one was anywhere to be found. Which was good for the six attempting to escape. After ringing to the planet, they easily made it through the trees and to the Stargate. It seemed as if it taunted them. Teasing them with a secret. 

"Daniel, dial us home," Jack ordered, looking at the Stargate. He had the strangest feeling that something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Jack just wasn't sure what it was. 

He gazed at the Stargate as its inner ring turned to form the combination that would take them home. But his eyes did not see that. The merely starred while his ears listened. Listened for anything that he knew they didn't want. But the Stargate was too loud and he could hear anything. 

The exact reason none of the group heard the twenty Jaffa approach them. Why no one knew until it was too late that they had charged staff weapons. And why no one heard anything but them snickering at how easy it had been to caught them. 

In Jesse's condition, it would have been too risky to try and escape. Instead, they dropped their weapons and surrendered to the obviously stronger forces. Giving in, the four lowered their weapons and raised their hands. Teal'c, on the other hand, had no weapon and could not raise his arms for he was still carrying the ill child. 

With twenty staff weapons pointed at their heads, SG-1 and Jacob stripped themselves of their vests and other so-called threats. Setting them all in a large pile, the group backed away once the lead Jaffa gestured the bunch with his staff weapon. 

Out of the twenty Jaffa, only fifteen accompanied them to the rings and only five stayed with them as they rung up. Even though, Daniel knew he heard the rings activate right after they stepped off the platform. 

The group was lead to the same room Jesse was first taken. Horus was there, waiting for their arrival with a pleased smile. He seemed quite pleased with himself for being able to lose three prisoners and get them back with three more. 

His eyes roamed over the team, seeing them as his enemies and no one else. Prizes, perhaps, but nothing that couldn't be expended if it came to that. His smile widened when his eyes reached Jesse's limp form, still in Teal'c's arms after he refused to get him away. It was like he was happy that the child was dying. That he was suffering for a betrayal that never happened. 

"You almost made it, Colonel. What a shame that there were so many Jaffa there," Jones's mouth said, his voice altered by the Gou'ald. 

"Always a cliché keeping me from getting home," Jack replied just before his Jaffa captor hit him in the back of the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. With a grunt, Jack looked up at the Jaffa, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue.

But his never got the chance to say it for Horus beat him to speaking. "The boy does not look well."

"If he doesn't get help soon, he will die," Sam spoke immediately, looking up at the Gou'ald whose host she remembered from just days ago. He had accompanied her on a mission with SG-3 along with catching Jesse as he ran away from the Infirmary. 

Horus's smile faded as he looked down at the Air Force Major. "Do you think that concerns me?" Sam looked into the once caring and humored eyes of Lieutenant Jones. They no longer held his kindness. They were full of anger and revenge. 

But Sam never answered. It seemed to frustrate the Gou'ald. With an audible growl, Horus's eyes flashed a dangerous gold and he turned his attention back to his Jaffa. "Take them to their cell," he commanded and his soldiers complied. Five or so went to their side and ushered them out of the room.

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

"How's he doing?" Jack asked Sam as he came up behind her. Once their captors had left them, Teal'c had finally released his charge and allowed Sam to return to her duties as his temporary doctor. 

Sam looked up at her CO from her kneeling position next to the unconscious form of her _son_. Giving him a sad smile, she replied, "I think the fever's gone down a bit."

"That's good, right?" Jack inquired, his voice distant. 

"Yea, that's good."

Jack sighed and nodded. Crouching down next to her, Jack said, "You should get some rest, you look like crap, Carter."

Sam smiled at his bluntness. "Thanks, sir, but I should keep an eye on him." 

"It's alright, I'll do it. If there are any changes, I'll wake you," Jack whispered in her ear. It wasn't like they were trying to keep from being heard by the others. On the contrary, they were trying not to wake everyone else. 

Sam looked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of her father. Next to him, leaning against the wall, Daniel was also fast asleep. Teal'c had been sitting in the corner, kel'no'reming. Looking back at Jack, she could see the fatigue in his eyes. 

"It's ok, sir. You sleep, I'll be fine." 

Jack looked her over and made up his mind. With a simple shake of the head, he smiled and said, "That was an order, Major." Sam smiled at the glint in his eyes he always got when telling her a joke like that. 

"Yes, sir." Since their backs were against the far wall, Sam was already in a good enough position to sleep. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she closed her eyes. Jack just smiled at his second in command, not minding the company while he watched his _son_. 

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

It felt as if the world was pressing down on his chest. His breathing remained shallow for it hurt to take too deep a breath. A blanket of heat seemed to envelop his as beads of sweat rolled off his brow and his hair was damp- an annoying feeling he had to admit. 

With great effort, Jesse forced his eyelids to crack open. Immediately he recognized the place as his prison cell he had earlier occupied. The light burned his eyes, causing him to shut them almost instantly as his headache grew worse. 

With an audible groan, he turned his head to the left and saw his parents cuddled together as they slept. But, no, they weren't his parents. For a minute, his mind tried to once again wrap itself around the multiple reality thing but, in the end, his mind decided it was too tired to even attempt it. 

Turning his head to the right, Jesse spotted a figure he hadn't expected nor ever thought he would see again. There was his grandfather; alive, awake, and giving him a warm and comforting smile. 

Jesse forced his eyes to look as far as possible. Doing so, he knew another sleeping form was there, he merely could not identify the person. Off in the opposite corner, Jesse could see the large man, he now knew was Jaffa, asleep or… doing something else. 

Looking back at his grandfather, he gave a weak smile in return. His body was still too sick to think. To try and understand things. Just as his mind was too tired to contemplate and theorize. 

Moving his head back to face the ceiling, he sighed and understood their predicament was bad. They were all captured. All in the hands of the Gou'ald who had possessed Jones. And they may never make it out. 

Hearing the ruffle of clothing, his eyes looked to see who was awaking. But, instead, he found that his grandfather was moving toward him. Crawling up to him, he asked, quietly, "How are you feeling, kid?"

Jesse's throat was dry. Dry from breathing through his mouth. Dry from no water. And, he just realized, his stomach was painfully empty. The last meal he had had was lunch at school. Whether it was the same day or the next, he was unsure. But he knew he hadn't eaten for some time. 

"Better," Jesse responded in a cracked voice after swallowing a few times. 

"Good," the elder man said as he placed the back of his hand on Jesse's forehead and then cheeks. "You should get some rest. Conserve your strength," Jacob said with an amiable smile and a soft pat on the shoulder. 

His close proximity allowed Jesse to feel the same horrible feeling that he got around Sam, Jones, Teal'c, and all the other Jaffa. For just a moment, it scared him beyond reason. But, then, he calmed as he remembered Jacob was a Tok'ra. Sort of like a Gou'ald, but not one. 

When he heard Jacob turn to move away, he closed his eyes and worked hard to act asleep. He was grateful for Jacob's obvious concern, but, what he didn't know, was that every time Jesse closed his eyes the image of the horrible creature on his chest taunted him. And the pain and feeling of the thing as it entered his body and tried to take control wouldn't stop replaying. 

He couldn't sleep. Or, at least, he didn't want to. But his body was so fatigued- so exhausted- that the moment his eyes closed, his brain decided to shut down and he was lulled into unconsciousness. 

__

A small five-yea-old lay on a hospital bed made for men much older than he. The room was dark: dimly lit for the late hours of the day. Throughout the large infirmary, many other, older people lined the area as they waited for treatment. Some in need of serious attention while others did not. 

The atmosphere in the room was tense, following the day's events. But, slowly, it seemed to be dissipating. But, for the young boy, those events would linger. His small, fragile body was hooked up to IV's, monitors, and the like in hopes of helping him. Help him to survive and forget. 

Jesse slowly cracked opened his eyes to find that he was still in the cell. Sudden recollection told him that his chest no longer hurt as much and he was able to breathe again. The heat that had once surrounded his body was almost gone and his head no longer throbbed in his ears and eyes. 

"Hey, kid. Nice to see you back in the land of the living," he heard his father say and he looked toward the area the voice had come from. His father was now awake and standing against the wall.

Looking around himself, he found that the entire room had awakened. His mother and Daniel were sitting up against the wall, talking about something, while Jacob and Teal'c were near the door. 

"How long was I asleep?"

Jack smiled at the kid before raising his arm to show him that he had no watch on. "Couldn't tell you. They always take the watches. I've always imagined that they have a huge pile filled with all the watches they've stole from us somewhere… out there," Jack told him with a shrug. 

Jesse merely smiled. Using his arms as leverage, he slowly lifted his sore and tired body off the hard floor. With a grunt of effort, he managed to get into a sitting position, much to the dismay of the other occupants of the room. After moving, he had inadvertently caught the attention of the entire room. 

Though his head had begun to spin the moment he got up, he felt fine. Putting a hand out at the sudden on-slaught of people around him, he slid himself backwards until he hit the solid wall. For a moment, he just sat still with his eyes closed as he waited for the dizziness to subside. When he reopened his eyes, he found everyone either looking at or crowding him. 

"I'm okay. Just…sat up too fast," he assured the five others. "Really, I'm fine," he said when he noticed his mother's 'look'. 

Finally tolerating his excuse, Sam looked away and back at Daniel. He gave a knowing look, understanding- in some terms- the situation she had found herself in. 

"How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice quiet for his question was meant only for her ears. 

With a shrug, she answered, "Fine, I guess." Seeing his look, she knew that he didn't believe her. Daniel had always been like a brother to her, but Mark had never been that perceptive about anything, really. Why did he have to be? "I'm stuck, in a prison, on a Gou'ald mother ship. My entire team- along with my father and son- are being held prisoner. I think I'm aloud a little slack."

It took a lot of effort and talent for Daniel not to raise his eyebrow at Sam's reference to Jesse as "my son". But, rather than voicing his observations, he merely nodded his head at her statement. 

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Hmm, I wonder how they'll get out of this one? Let me think about it and I'll get back to you. R/R and tell me what you think might happen, about this chapter or previous ones, or just to say whatever. Remember, creative criticism is always appreciated. 


	9. Unexpected Visits

Author's Note: I'm sorry about the long wait, it wasn't intentional. I was having a problem with formatting this chapter, a real headache. That, combined with school and the other story I'm trying to do, it just took a long time to get ready for posting. But, here you are. Enjoy and please R/R. 

Summary: While in the grips of a Gou'ald, who will help SG-1? And why?

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Chapter Nine:

Unexpected Visits

With a sway of his elaborate cloak, a tall, skinny man walked right past a small group of Jaffa without a second thought- his own Jaffa escort following behind him. For a minute, they walked through the maze of halls before reaching the door they were looking for. 

Pressing the control button with an unusual flare, the door opened without hesitation. Within only a few seconds, the cell behind the door could be seen. Not to mention the moan of Jack O'Neill saying, "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Ignoring him with ease, the tall man addressed Jacob by saying, in a deep, computerized voice, "Selmak, it is a pleasure to see you once again."

Jacob turned almost immediately to see who owned the voice he had heard. With a flourish, Jacob's head boded for a second before he raised it to show his eyes glowing yellow. "It is a pleasure to see you as well, Tanik."

"Uh, guys. You know, this may seem like a stupid comment but, should you really be talking like old buddies with _them _here?" Jack asked sarcastically as he pointed a finger at the Jaffa guard. The door had closed the moment they entered and no one else would be able to hear, but they still could. 

"We are Rebel Jaffa. Free of the false gods. We serve the Tok'ra and Tau'ri… working to free the rest of our people," the lead Jaffa stated, his voice deep and proud. With a respectful nod to Teal'c, he said, "We follow Tanik's orders and not Horus's."

Teal'c nodded in return but said nothing for there was nothing to be said. But Jack had something he wanted clarified, "Ok, that's all fine and dandy but… why are you telling _us this_?"

Tanik turned and looked at the vocal O'Neill. "We are telling you this because we must get you out of here. I have fulfilled my mission. I have the notes on the virus Horus has been making; the lab is destroyed. I merely wish to take you with me. You will not survive much longer if you do not get out."

"Oh, well that works… out." 

In the corner sat the unnoticed Jesse. While everyone had turned their attention to the men who had just entered, he had slid further and further away. It was strange and painful enough with three people in there who caused the strange feeling. But, now, there were tons. It was like being back in that other room, filled to the brink with symbiotes. 

But, there was no running from them. No running from any of them. And, what was worse, was seeing and hearing his grandfather's voice change like that. Change to make him sound just like the Gou'ald. Like all of the Gou'ald. Like the one that seemed to be helping them. 

"Come. We must go now." Jesse heard the man- Tanik, as he had been introduced- tell the room. But Jesse didn't want to go with them. He wasn't ever sure that he could stand much less escape with them. 

Finally being noticed by someone, Daniel said, "Are you all right, Jesse?" Jesse turned his frightened blue eyes toward Daniel. It was as if he could stare straight into his soul with his lost, innocent eyes. 

"Jesse?" Sam asked, seeing him cuddled in the corner. "It's all right, I promise," she told him, knowing it must have been exhausting feeling so many symbiotes in one area. She remembered being over-whelmed by it as well.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Jesse tried to reminded himself that his parents trusted them and he should as well. It was just… the feeling they caused was terrifying. And a horrible remembrance of what happened the last time he was with Jones. When his eyes opened again, they were more distant, but willing to cooperate with the man. 

"We should go now. Before Horus finds out that I am here," Tanik told them. "Can the boy walk?"

Jesse looked at him, his eyes holding no emotion. Slowly but steadily, he pushed his body up using the side of the walls. When his feet were flat on the ground, he went to take a step but failed. Falling into the arms of his father, Jack helped him back up but did not remove his supportive hand. 

At a slower pace than Tanik or anyone else would have liked, they made their way through the halls and toward the Ring Room. Passing only a few Jaffa on the way, they were not questioned nor did the Jaffa seem to notice for more than a second. 

Once inside the desired room, Jesse and the bunch stepped onto the platform and watched as the room they had been standing in disappear before their eyes. Milliseconds later, a large, green forest appeared in front of them. Five Jaffa guard still laid there, dead because of SG-1. 

"There are five Jaffa standing guard at the Stargate. I'll tell them that Horus ordered me to take you somewhere. Hopefully they wouldn't notice the address," Tanik told them.

"If they do?" Jack asked, his arm still protectively wrapped around Jesse's still weak body. 

"They will be killed," he stated, his voice expressionless. 

Without another word, he began walking toward the Stargate, the Jaffa following his and telling SG-1 to follow. Maintaining the disguise that they were still prisoners of Horus, they approached the Jaffa without a single thought of it. 

Tanik immediately approached the DHD but was stopped by one of the Jaffa. "What are you doing?" He asked in a deep, commanding voice. 

"Horus has ordered me to take the prisoners to his other base. And I am doing so. Would you like to explain to your god why you are interrupting his orders?" Tanik said in his most intimidating voice he could muster. 

"No," the Jaffa backed down. 

"Then get out of my way." The Jaffa complied and allowed him to begin dialing up the correct address. 

The Jaffa, who had been paying more attention than they would have liked, stated, "Those are not the correct symbols." 

But, before he and his men could respond, the other Jaffa already had their staff weapons charged and firing at them. Easily, the other five Jaffa fell to the ground, as dead as the others at the rings. 

Tanik continued his dialing as if nothing had happened. With a push of the center button, the Stargate whooshed open and left a blue puddle in the center of the gigantic ring. Moving from his place at the DHD, he walked up the three stairs and stood in front of the 'gate's mouth. 

"This isn't Earth's address, I take it?" Daniel asked, who had noticed his never used a GDO. 

"No, the alpha site. They have a GDO so you can get back to your planet. But we must hurry. Before anyone notices something is wrong." With that, SG-1, Jesse, Jacob, and the other Jaffa hurried up the stairs and through the Stargate, followed closely by Tanik. 

**Alpha Cite**

The moment the strange, tingly feeling that the Stargate creates, Jesse found himself, not in the SGC nor on the other planet but, somewhere he had never been. It was barren and dusty but there were woods out in the distance. Right past the encampment that had been put up next to the Stargate.

Jesse was helped down off of the platform by the help of his father. After his experience through the Stargate, his legs were complete rubber. Not to mention his stomach was reeling. He just wanted to collapse on his bed and fall asleep for a year. And some food. He was starving despite his upset stomach. 

Jack's hand had tightened increasingly around Jesse's waist, supporting him more than he had before. He felt Jesse's body slumping more and more into his as he became too weak to support himself. 

As they moved closer to the settlement, Jesse was beginning to feel the pressure and sickening feeling grow in the pit of his stomach. He wished that he could somehow escape it; escape the memory it provoked. But he never would, he knew. 

Slowly, the buzz of Jaffa life began to hit their ears as they grew even closer to tents and makeshift buildings. Fires blazed as their meals were being prepared. Jesse could vaguely smell the meat cooking but wasn't sure with the smell of hundreds of smelly, unwashed Jaffa and dust. 

Night was already settling on the strange, new planet. From the looks of things, Jesse would assume that it was around dinnertime on Thursday. He would give anything for a huge dinner and a good night's sleep. 

With a quick nod from Tanik, Jesse watched as the five Jaffa walked off and joined some of the other inhabitants. Finally understanding that these Jaffa were good, allies of Earth, he relaxed a bit more. And even more when Teal'c joined a young, dark skinned boy. He was around Jesse's age, perhaps fifteen. His hair was short and allowed easy viewing of the black tattoo on his head in the same shape as Teal'c's. 

Watching them embrace from the corner of his eye, Jack lead Jesse away from the reunion and helped him settle down on the ground in front of a small bonfire. The acute smell of flames, ash, and spices filled his nostrils. Smoke burned his eyes and seared his lungs for a moment before the wind shifted and forced the smoke away from him. 

Listening to the steady hum of talking in the background, Jesse's weary eyes focus on the cracking noises the fire created as sparks flew. With a red glow bathed on his face, his eyelids slowly drooped until closed and his head bobbed on his chest. Before he knew it, his mind was shut down to any and all thoughts. 

Waking up to unfamiliar surrounds had become the norm for Jesse. When his blue eyes opened, still clouded with sleep, his mind did not take much time trying to decipher where he was. 

Once he managed to sit up, the wool blanket, that had covered him through the night, fell to his lap. Looking down at it, he saw that it was quiet colorful and must have taken some time to make. 

Looking up at the walls and ceiling, he assumed that he was inside one of the tents. No one else was in there that he saw, just unmade or made beds. Clothing was hung on the walls here and there while other personal belongings seemed scattered around the room. 

The gentle movement of material hit Jesse's ears and he turned to look at it. A young woman walked in, one not must older than eighteen. She had long dark hair placed hurriedly in a braid and her forehead, too, was seen with a strange tattoo on it. But, unlike the boy he had seen the other day, hers was not like Teal'c's. Instead it was more like a hawk of some sort. 

She smiled at him when she saw that he was awake. "I see you've finally awaken." Jesse smiled at her voice. Though her looks were ragged and the place she lived in not much better, her voice was musical and optimistic. Perhaps that was the only thing keeping her alive through everything. 

"Yes," Jesse said weakly through his dry throat. 

"I brought you this," she said, gesturing to the dish she held in her hands. "It's some of this morning's breakfast. I thought you might be hungry after all you've been through." At Jesse's inquisitive look, she added, "I like to listen to the Tau'ri. They always tell stories of something interesting and adventure. I listened again last night."

As she spoke, she drew closer to Jesse, who was still sitting on his mattress. Kneeling down next to him, she handed the plate over to him. He graciously accepted and began to eat whatever it was with his bare hands. 

The food looked like strange, raw meat, but Jesse was hungry enough that he'd eat anything. Shoving the first bit into his mouth, he found that it wasn't that bad. In fact, it tasted like chicken. 

"Tastes like chicken," Jesse commented as he put another, larger piece into his mouth. 

"What is chicken?" The woman asked, amused at Jesse's behavior as he devoured the food. 

Stopping for a moment, he looked at her and remembered that she was not native to Earth. "Right. It's… it's an animal we hunt on my planet. They have good meat and their eggs are edible."

"They are a good source of food then?"

"Yes," he told her, placing another strip of meat in his mouth. After swallowing, he again stopped and said, "I'm acting rude. I don't even know your." Sticking out his hand, Jesse said, "Jesse O'Neill, and you are?" 

The woman looked down at his hand for a long moment before putting her own hand out, mimicking his but leaving it about an inch from his palm. "Sel'ac."

Jesse smiled and told her hand in his before saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sel'ac continued to look at their hands, confused by the gesture. Releasing her hand, Jesse explained, "It's called a handshake. A human custom."

"Human? Oh, you mean Tau'ri."

Now it was Jesse's turn to be confused. "What's a Tau'ri?"

"You are," Sel'ac said, bewildered that he didn't know such a thing. 

"I am? You mean, Humans. It's like… another name for them?"

"Exactly."

"I'm new at this whole… Stargate, aliens thing. You'll have to bare with me," Jesse said, his choice of words another bewilderment for Sel'ac. 

After a pause, in which Jesse took another bit of his breakfast, he asked, "Not to be rude, but you wouldn't happen to have any water would you?"

Sel'ac nodded and took a strap off of her neck. Handing it to him, he recognized it as a canteen of sorts. It was U-shaped and he assumed held more water. Unscrewing the cap, he tipped it into his mouth, gulping down as much as he could. 

Moving it away from his mouth, he put the cap back on and gave it back. "Thank-you."

"I thought you might need some," she told him with a smile. He wasn't sure if it was about his behavior or something else. 

"You're very thoughtful." 

At that moment, Colonel O'Neill chose to make his appearance. The door of the tent was pulled back and he looked inside. "Jesse?" 

"Yea, I'm awake," he responded. 

Jack walked in slowly and saw a Jaffa woman sitting with him as he ate, what looked like, the breakfast. "We're almost ready to go. How ya doin'?"

Jesse nodded and said, "I'm ok."

"Think you can stand?" As if testing the idea, he pushed the covers off his body and tried to stand. His feet were wobbly and unsure, but he was standing. Taking a few slow steps toward his father, he nodded. 

"Alright. Come on then," Jack watched as he turned toward the woman. 

"It was nice to meet you. I hope we see each other again," Jesse said with a polite grin. "Thank-you for the food."

"It was my pleasure. And I hope to see you again as well." 

With a wave, Jesse made his way to his father, each step a tiring strain. Finally making it to the door, Jack allowed him to put some of his weight onto him as the two walked toward the Stargate. 

Once at the massive piece of technology, Jesse saw that their Jaffa escort was not there with them but Tanik was. He and Jacob were engaged in some sort of discussion, their voices deep and computerized. Jesse decided to not even try to listen to the gibberish. Instead, his eyes turned to watch the inner ring of the Stargate spin. 

The process took only a minute or two, but it was enough to entertain his exhausted mind for a while. The swoosh of the wormhole frightened him only a fraction of what it had the first time, but he still jumped slightly in his father's arms. 

Watching his mother, Daniel, and then Teal'c disappear into the shimmering blue liquid, his grandfather made his way there after concluding the discussion with the other Tok'ra. At the same time, his father slowly helped him up the four stone steps. 

For the third time in his life, Jesse stepped through the Stargate's wormhole and exited somewhere new. This time, though, it was at least familiar. He was finally on Earth. At the SGC. And almost home. 

Though stranger than he was the previous day, Jesse still felt his legs crumble from beneath him and his arm tighten around his father. Jack, for his part, clutched just that much tighter in anticipation of just that. 

"Stand down," Jesse could hear General Hammond say. After, he noticed the dozen or so guards lower their weapons accordingly. 

"SG-1, Jacob… Jesse, welcome back," Hammond greeted them, relief and joy written on his tired features. 

"General," Jack replied as he helped Jesse down the ramp. At the same time, the others filed off and began to swarm around Hammond. 

"I should head back," Jacob stated, more to Hammond and himself than anyone else. The moment those words graced Jesse's ears, he felt his sprits fall. He had hoped to have just a moment with his grandfather. A real moment. He hadn't seen him in so long. Or, at least, _his_ grandfather. 

Seeing this, Sam piped up by saying, "Maybe you could stay at my place for a day or so. Mark's coming by on Friday, I'm sure he'd love to see you." 

Looking over his daughter, Jacob's eyes glanced quickly at his newfound grandson. He could see the hope his answer would be yes. 

Giving in, Jacob stated in defeat, "Alright, I'll stay. But I do have to go back some day." Both Sam and Jesse smiled with relief. 

"Alright, mister, let's get you to Janet," Jack said, helping Jesse to begin moving again. "The rest of you should get cleaned up." 

"It's the guy's turn in there first. Remember. I'll take him," Sam reminded her CO. Putting his sore, tired arm around Sam's neck; he released his firm hold on Jack. 

"Are you sure?" The Colonel asked, his own arm loosening when he saw that Sam had a good hold on him. 

"Yea. I can manage," she told him with one of her priceless smiles. 

"Ok. Come on, you guys." With that, Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel followed by her father, marched out of the room. The two of them started their decent toward the infirmary only a moment later. 

For a while, they stumbled through the long halls filled with armed guards and other Air Force and Marine officers. After some time, they walked through the door of Janet's infirmary. By then, Jesse had assured Sam that he didn't need her help and could walk on his own, only using her to steady himself once or twice. 

When Janet saw his condition, she immediately had him lay down on one of the beds. A nurse came over to give Sam her post-mission physical while Janet worked with Jesse. Looking him over, she pulled out her flashlight and looked in his eyes. 

"Follow my finger," she told him, her voice kind and welcoming. Moving it to the sides and then up and down, he followed it easily. Scribbling down a few notes, Janet looked him in the eyes and saw his control and blocks breaking down. 

Forgetting his physical for a moment, she took a stool and sat next to him. "What happened, Jesse?" She asked, her voice open and inviting. 

For a minute, Jesse didn't know how to answer. After starring down at his hands, he finally broke down and allowed tears to roll down his cheeks. "They put… one of those things in me."

Those simple words were enough to make Janet's blood pump hard. The idea of one being put in anyone she knew was enough to make her furious. But, what was worse, she had no idea if it was still there. Adrenal streamed through her blood but his next words and tears calmed her enough to not send him straight to get a MRI. 

"I was sick for a while in the prison cell. My mom said that I had a high fever for a while. And she said I was delusional. I didn't tell them. That I had one inside of me. I don't it's there any more. I think it's gone. Dead, maybe."

"You didn't tell them?"

"No," Jesse stated, dumbly, as he continued to stare at the bed. "I was sick most of the time. I didn't know how to tell them after. They were weary enough around me."

Janet nodded and said, "Well I have to finish your physical. And… just incase, I'll need to do another MRI." Putting her hands under his chin and feeling around, she marked more notes on the pad and continued her examine of him. 

Putting a thermometer in his mouth, she began getting ready to take his blood pressure. After a minute, the petite doctor removed the thermometer and checked the reading. Marking it down on the paper before taking his BP.

After doing a few other things Jesse didn't pay attention to- besides the shot she gave him in the arm and taking some blood- Janet said, "Alright, time for the MRI." Jesse nodded and forced himself off of the bed. With a fear shaking in his core, he walked with as much dignity he could muster as he struggled to keep his balance. 

Looking at the offensive piece of technology he had already been in once or twice, he sighed and got on the long board. Agonizingly slow, the board was retracted until it hit the back. Noises and lights began to go off. His heart rate climbed as he bit back his groundless fear of the thing. 

For what seemed like years, he remained in the machine, wishing for it to be over. Finally, the noises stopped and he was brought out of the machine. With a sigh of relief he hopped down and walked with the nurse out of the small, isolated room without feeling his legs slowly turning back to jelly. 

As Janet rounded the corner to make it to Jesse's bed, she saw Sam leave and the other members of SG-1 walked in. Looking to see Jesse sitting silently on the bed, she noticed for the first time his ragged appearance. 

He was obviously tired and exhausted- physically, mentally, and emotionally- from everything that's been happening to him. But there was also his clothing. They were torn and tattered, along with dirty and smelly. She could see that all this kid needed was a bath, some food, and a good night's sleep, not all the tests.

"Come on, kid." Jesse looked up at the sound of Janet's voice and saw that she meant him. Hopping off of the short bed the nurse had instructed him to wait at, he walked up to her and felt her wrap an arm around him shoulder. 

"Colonel?"

"Yes, doc?"

"If you swear to come back tomorrow, I'll release you to take Jesse home." Jesse looked up at the pretty doctor before looking back at his father. He was clearly shocked he was even given the option. But, the moment he looked at Jesse, he nodded immediately. 

"Alright. I'll be here by… noon," Jack promised and walked his charge to the door. 

"You better!" Janet called back as the two turned the corner. With a shake of her head, she went about her work. 

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Hoped you like it- and review even though you must hate me for holding out so long. So how do you like it so far? Also, the woman Jaffa Jesse met at the Alpha Cite will end up playing- in a way- a large role later. Can anyone guess what? 


	10. Memories of a Time Rather Forgotten

Author's Note: Sorry about the long delay, I kind of forgot with all the tests and stuff I had to take this week. I hope you all with forgive me… please?… and still read and review and everything. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please R/R. You can even scold me for my procrastinating. 

Summary: Jesse struggles to get over what happened to him as he tries to have everything return to as 'normal' as possible. Will he recover or will he continue to drown in the confusion tumbling through his mind?

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Chapter Ten:

Memories of a Time Rather Forgotten

After scrubbing himself for close to an hour and then eating the biggest lunch he had ever had, Jesse slowly cracked open the front door and snuck out onto the porch. Flinching internally as the door creaked when he closed. Hoping his father didn't hear, he held his breath for a moment and listened. 

"Jesse? It that you?" Jack called. He could hear everything, just like his real dad. 

"I'm just going to get some fresh air… on the porch," he quickly added. After a moment of silence, Jack agreed even though he was supposed to be asleep. But not without reminding him to come back in soon. 

Closing the doors behind him, Jesse finally took the time to look at everything. Dozens of houses, in similar design, lined the two streets. The road had few cars on it except those parked in front of their respective houses. 

But, what caught his eye, was a blonde girl walking down his street. Walking past the neighbors' house. His mind was so focused on her, he hardly heard her saying "Hi." With a smile and a wave, she turned onto the sidewalk leading to his father's house. Lamely he managed to move his hand enough to call it a wave. 

"I haven't seen you in school the past few days."

Her statement was enough to brake his trance. Looking away from her, he plopped himself on the stairs and said, "I…'ve been sick."

"Really? With what?" As she spoke, her slow descent stopped, leaving three feet in between them. 

With a shrug, Jesse told them the first thing that same to his mind. "I'm… don't remember what the doctor called it. I do remember I had a temperature of like… one hundred and twelve, or something. I was delusional, according to my mom." Hearing about his mental status while ill, caused her to laugh. 

"I'm not kidding. I was mostly unconscious until last night. Even then I fell asleep like two hours later. I was feeling a little shaky but better today. My dad didn't make me go to school though."

After a short pause, he asked, "So, what have I missed?"

"Nothing much." He nodded and looked away, not knowing what else to say. 

"So?"

"So."

"So, what do your parents do, anyway?" Alyssa asked, recalling how little she actually knew about the new boy. 

Avoiding her gaze, he said, "They're in the Air Force."

Nodding, Alyssa asked, "I thought they had rules about Air Force… people marrying."

"Well, my… parents aren't actually married. They… just had me. Technically I… shouldn't exist. It was a huge… well, let's just say they could have gotten into a lot more trouble than they did," Jesse gave a shrug and a bemused grin. He was surprised at his ability to lie to her like that. But, then again, it wasn't technically a lie. Mostly it was true. 

"Oh, that's weird."

"Yea, that's why I lived mostly with the Air Force. You know, private tutoring. That kind of thing." Jesse had drilled this lie into his mind before he had been kidnapped by Jones. He knew exactly how to respond to things like what he and Alyssa were talking about. He had even begun to believe it himself. He had even noticed that he was beginning to think of the Colonel and Major as, not their ranks, but as "mom" and "dad". 

"Well, I should be going," Alyssa stated, not moving at all. 

He looked up into her eyes and noticed that she was not wearing her usual blue contacts but clear ones. With a smile, and nodded and said, "Then, hopefully, I'll see you Monday."

"Yea." Turning, she walked down the small path and back to the sidewalk. 

"Hey!" Jesse called and waited until she turned to look at him. "Do you live on this block?"

"Yea, at the end of the street."

The grin grew on his face as he thought of what she had said. "Then, maybe I'll see you this weekend."

A grin grew over her own face. "I'd like that. Last house. Can't miss it." For a few minutes, he just watched her walk away. 

**Jesse's Room**

Jesse laid awake in his bed. He had gotten an hour or so of sleep but he just couldn't seem to stay that way. Too many memories surfaced. Too many things he'd rather not repeat seemed to be revealed. 

Listening to the on-goings downstairs, he heard the phone ring once or twice before his father picked it up. Straining his ears, he could make out some of the conversation. Enough to know that it was his mother on the line. 

"Hi, si… Jack," Sam corrected herself with a smile. It was not every day she got to say that, but they did agree to her using his real name while not on duty and around Jesse. 

"Hey, Sam. How's Jacob?"

"Fine, he's with Mark in the other room. Actually, that's why I'm calling. With-"

"With Jacob and Mark you want to stay there and talk. You don't get to see them that often. I understand. I think Jesse would too. He'll see you tomorrow, anyway," Jack interrupted her. 

"Right."

"Hey, Sam! You going to be on the phone the entire night, or just part of it?" Jack heard an unknown voice say on the other side of the line. He assumed it was Mark teasing his second in command. 

"No, I was thinking I would stay on it until the morning. That way I don't have to talk to you," he heard Sam shoot back even though her hand was over the phone. Jack couldn't help but smile at her. He had seen a similar interaction between Daniel and her over the years, but he never had any siblings that he had gotten to torture or that got to torture him. 

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Jack," he stated, correcting her apology. 

"Jack," she said with a hint of sarcasm behind it. "Well, I should go _entertain_ my brother. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yea, see you then." Jack heard the click of Sam's phone hitting the receiver before he hung up as well. Sighing, he couldn't get the smile off his face even though he was upset that she couldn't come over for dinner. 

**Jesse's Room**

__

It was happening all over again. The sharp pain coursed through his body and his control slipped away. He tried to fight it; to keep from losing his control like he remembered happened. To keep the corrupt thoughts away. 

But he couldn't. With an abrupt movement, his eyes glowed and his hand turned itself toward his parents, his friends… his family. A reddish orange light was produced from it; they all were forced back and hit the wall. He knew that they were dead. And, despite his efforts, a grin spread across his face. In some sick way, he felt good about what had happened. 

Jesse snapped his eyes opened. His heart was pounding in his chest; his breathing was labored and uncontrolled. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he tried to slow his heart and breathing down. At the same time, he ran a hand over his sweaty face and then through his tangled and messy hair. 

Turning his head, he read the green lights on his clock. It was barely six in the mourning, but he knew he would not be able to fall back asleep. He needed to be ready to be ready to go to the SGC by nine, where Janet would give them the results of his tests. 

Pushing the blankets aside and standing, he gave his final decision to get ready. 

**Jack's House, Kitchen**

With an odd familiarity with the surrounding room, Jesse maneuvered around and grabbed the necessary supplies to make his breakfast. With his bowl and spoon, he poured in his 'Weaties' cereal before pouring the milk over top of it. 

Sprinkling two spoon fulls of sugar over top of it, he brought it over to the table and sat down. Spooning the cereal into his mouth, he ate slower than normal. For the first time since he had gotten there, he allowed his taste buds the ability to actually taste the flavor of the cereal. 

"You up already?" 

Jesse's head spun to look at his father walking into the room. Normally, Jack beat him up and was already dressed by the time Jesse saw him. Looking him over, it was apparent that he just recently woke. 

"Yea, I couldn't sleep. So I just got up and took a shower," Jesse told him before returning to his cereal. 

Jack nodded as he moved for the coffeepot, making a new one. Turning to face his _son_, he said, "You remember we have to go to the SGC. And… Sam will take you from there."

"Right, I remember."

"And SG-1 has a two hour mission debriefing," Jack reminded him, his voice still showing the signs of his fatigue. 

"Yep," Jesse replied as he went to rinse out his bowl in the sink. Afterward, he cleared his mess, still listening to Jack. 

"Janet offered to let you stay in the Infirmary with her. That or in one of the rooms, by yourself."

"I think I'll help out in the Infirmary, thanks." Jesse turned, sitting on one of the counter seats as he watched Jack pour his mourning coffee cup. 

Taking a cautious sip of the dark liquid, Jack said, "So, how are you feeling? You said you couldn't sleep, because of nightmares or… what?"

Jesse just shrugged and looked at the ground. "I'm ok. I just wasn't tired after my constant naps, I guess. No nightmares, not really."

"Not really?"

Thinking better of his words, Jesse corrected them by saying, "Nothing. I didn't mean it like that."

Jack knew he wasn't going to talk about it and his persistence would probably make the situation worse. Perhaps he would voice his concerns to Janet later, maybe have him talk to Mackenzie (no matter how much he would rather than he didn't). 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Janet had held off showing Jack, Sam, and Jesse Friday night when she got the labs back. Instead, she decided to hold them until the next day. Mostly, she wanted Jesse to get his rest, but, also, it was to run some extra tests on Jesse's blood samples.

In the initial tests, she had noticed an increase of white blood cells. More tests confirmed that Jesse had a strain of a virus or something. His body seemed to have created an antibody and was fighting it off but, what she didn't understand, was why it wasn't effecting him at that moment. 

Cross-referencing the new blood sample to the old, she didn't see the virus anywhere else. It seemed that he got it when he went off world or something. But, as far as she could tell, he had only gotten it a few days ago. 

Or, at least, that's what Jesse had caught from Janet's speech. Se had confirmed he truly had no Gou'ald in him and showed proof with the MRI that she had taken: the only real thing he wanted to know at that point. 

"Is it contagious?" Sam asked from her spot at the end of Jesse's bed, right next to the Colonel. Before telling them everything she had, Janet first gave Jesse another check up to see how he was doing. 

"I don't think so. But… it's the strangest virus I've ever seen. It doesn't appear to be doing… anything. I'll have to run more tests but I think he's safe to leave the base and go to school Monday."

Jesse nodded; though he understood little of what any of it meant, he nodded as if he knew and understood. But he didn't. And he didn't care to. All of it meant little to nothing to him, he just wanted it to be over. 

"Jesse?"

"Yea?" He asked, his eyes searching for Sam's. 

"The Colonel and I have to go to a briefing, will you be alright here?" she told him. 

Without taking any time, he shook his head and stated, "I'll stay here. I don't mind waiting for you."

"Ok," Jack told him with a nodded and the two walked out of the Infirmary and turned to be out of his sight. 

"Jesse?" He heard Janet say and obediently turned his head to answer. "I need to talk to you about something… very important."

"Ok," Jesse responded, his voice weak and timid. 

Janet said down on the bed next to him and gave him the warmest look she could muster. "After everything you went through… even for many SG members, it can be very traumatizing. I would like you to see Dr. Mackenzie, psychologist. Just talk to him, about whatever you like. But at least see him once. You can even go now while your parents are at their briefing and they don't have to know, if that's what you'd like."

Jesse absorbed all of what she was saying like a sponge. He knew the dreams were caused by all the stress and emotions he had learned to bury deep down. And he knew what had happened to him wasn't exactly gone from his mind. Maybe a visit to this psychologist would help. 

"I don't know." Maybe not. Jesse had meant to say that he'd try it, but that's not what came out. 

"Are you sure?" Jesse just shrugged. "Just once, you don't have to do it again if you don't want to." 

Jesse neither did nor said anything for a few minutes. He thought it over, weighed his options. Before saying, "I guess I'll give it a try." With that, she led him from the small hospital and down the hall to the psychologist. 

**Dr. Mackenzie's Office**

"Tell me, Jesse, what happened after you left the SGC?" 

Jesse was now half-sitting, half-laying on a black couch- the same kind seen on television. He knew that this Doctor had been briefed on his situation before he had gotten there for Janet had left without much of a word to him. 

Sitting in his large, comfortable chair, he studied Jesse closely; his pad on the edge of the desk, ready to write down whatever he felt necessary. With his check in his hand, his patience with the teenager was commendable. 

Jesse watched him a moment. He was an averagely sized man in his late forties. His brown hair had begun to thin and was allotting for small bald spots here and there. The man's voice was deep and commanding, but, at the same time, friendly and open. Jesse knew this to be a voice all shrinks used to get their patients to talk to them… and Jesse didn't have any trouble ignoring that. 

With a shrug, he tried to think of the less vivid, less colorful summery of his experience. "Well, Jones- the man the Gou'ald had taken control of- was in the infirmary, where I was. He told me no one would mind if I took a look at the Stargate; I really wanted to see it. I thought he was telling the truth, so I went with him. I shouldn't have, I know that now. When we got into the 'gate room, I guess I was so… amazed by the device that I wasn't paying attention to other things."

"It's hard not to be," the shrink noted. "I've seen it so many times, but every time I can't help but feel so… inferior to it."

Jesse just nodded and continued, "When it started the spin, I couldn't look away. I must have missed him leave and knock out the guards up in the control room… thing. Before I knew what was going on, he had a gun to my neck."

"How did you feel?"

Jesse shook his head and stated, "I... I don't know."

"Were you scared? Did you think that you would die there?"

"I was… kind of afraid. But I… knew he wouldn't kill me. I guess that lessened my fear," Jesse told him with a sense of certainty he wasn't sure was true or not. 

"How did you know he wasn't going to kill you?" The Doctor asked, his steady pace a comfort to Jesse's spinning mind. 

"I don't know. It just seemed that he had gone through a lot to set that much up, I didn't think he would waste it by killing me. Besides, I was his only leverage, if he killed me, he wouldn't have had a shield. And I knew that the MP's in the 'gate room wouldn't have shot me."

"What happened next?" 

"He took me to another planet. There were Jaffa there. One of them took me to a cell on this… gold covered ship. It would have been interesting if I weren't in such a position," Jesse added, telling how he felt about the ship, thinking it might come up sooner or later. 

"Go on," the man urged, still gazing thoughtfully at the teenager, who was deep in thought. 

"I don't know… later they brought me to a… large room. I was put on a… bed kind of thing. Jones took this snake thing. I think it was a Gou'ald. It was put on my chest. The mere presence of it was strange enough but… then Jones pushed my head to the side and it… it…"

"It made you its host?"

"Yea. I felt… I knew my control was slipping away. I couldn't help it. I tried to fight it but… I couldn't. It was too hard," Jesse stated. It seemed he was trying to convince himself that there was nothing else that could have been done rather than tell Dr. Mackenzie what happened. 

"How did you feel?"

"I was terrified. I didn't know what was going on. I thought… I thought that… I don't know what I thought. I think I was too out of it to think like that," Jesse said. 

All through his confession, Mackenzie's hand was jotting notes like mad. "What happened next?"

"I… I don't really remember. I was in and out of consciousness for a while, I don't recall much until I woke up. It was not long before the Tok'ra spy and a few Rebel Jaffa arrived and we got out of there. Everything was mostly a blur. I was so tired and weak, I don't remember much nor did I really have any time to think or feel."

A knock at the door interrupted Jesse. Mackenzie stood and opened the door. Behind it was Janet. "His parents are almost done with their briefing. I should get Jesse back to the Infirmary."

"Right." Turning, he said to Jesse, "It was nice to meet… and talk to you. If you want to talk again, just come by."

Jesse nodded as he hopped down from the couch. Stepping away, he joined Janet on the other side of the door. With a fait smile, he retreated from the office to his newest sanctuary: the Infirmary. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Janet immediately escorted Jesse to the Infirmary and left him with a short Japanese nurse with the assurance that his parents would be there any time. With a smile, he took it all in and introduced himself to the nurse who, he then found out, was named Nariko Ishikawa. She was a nice, kind woman with a perky personality and a thick Japanese accent. 

But, even though she was nice to be around, he wanted out of the SGC. And his pray was answered when Jack and Sam walked through the large doors. "Hi," he greeted them with a smile. 

"Hey, ready to go?"

With creased brows, he asked, "Isn't g-Jacob coming with us?"

"He has to stay and talk with the General. But he'll be staying over with us until tomorrow," Sam told him. Nodding, Jesse turned and thanked Nurse Ishikawa for looking after him for the ten minutes he was in the Infirmary. 

"So where are we going?" Jesse asked as they walked out into the familiar setting of the dim, boring halls. 

"Somewhere to eat," Jack told him without expanding. 

**O'Malleys: Bar and Grill**

Interestingly, Jack thought it would be amusing to go back to O'Malleys and see their reactions after three years. Of course, when he said this to Sam, Jesse was listening and curious to know more, but, thankfully, the waitress came at that moment. 

"What can I get for you folks?" Or not so thankfully. Strangely enough, it was the same waitress they had had three years ago. "Wow, I never thought I'd see you two again."

Jack, looking down with a smile on his face answered, "Yea, well, that whole suspension thing was up over a year ago and… you know, I think I'll just have the steak dinner and a beer."

"Yea, I'll have the same only a diet coke," Sam told the waitress, remembering the look she had gotten from the two guys when she ordered four steaks and a diet soda. 

"Alright, just one?"

"Just one," Jack answered her back. 

Jesse, again, just stood on the sidelines watching and taking everything in. A smile crossed his face as he listened to the conversation, his imagination wild about what might have happened there years ago. 

"And for you?" He heard the waitress say.

"Um, I'll just have the chicken strips and a Pepsi."

"What kind of sauce would you like?" 

"Honey Dijon, please," he told her with a smile as he handed over the menu. When she was out of earshot, his parents seemed to no longer be able to contain themselves and burst out in laughter. 

"I can't believe she managed to be our waitress," Jack commented. 

"Really. I never thought I'd see her again."

"Oh, remember her face when I told her those steaks were for me?" Jack asked through his fits of laughter. 

"Yea, and then Daniel ordered four."

"And you with your _diet_ coke." He would never let her live that down now. 

As their laughter died off, Jesse just sat there with a smile on his face. "What was that all about?" He asked, assuming he could now get a straight answer. But that wasn't going to happen. Instead, their laughter was heightened. 

"It's a long story," Sam explained. 

"Basically, we had these alien devices. We broke out of house arrest and came here, where we then bought like ten steaks for just Daniel, Sam, and me. She was our waitress then," Jack told him through his light chuckling.

But Jesse just shook his head with a smile and looked away. 

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So, how do you like things so far? Good? Bad? Or not too weird for you? Either way, R/R, please. And thanks to those who have been. 


	11. Fatal Attraction

Author's Note: Sorry this one took so long to post, I was rather bummed about the lack of reviewing so I decided to hold it off for a little bit longer. But, I'll get over it. *chokes back fake tears* But I _expect _more reviews this time… am I right? Of course I am. Enjoy and please R/R. 

Summary: As an illness threatens to wipe out the Rebel Jaffa, how can the SGC help? And what caused it?

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Chapter Eleven:

Fatal Attraction

The rest of the night sailed by. After they ate, Sam challenged Jesse to play pool and even taught him how to make the shot she won two hundred dollars off of. Even through all of his fun, Jesse still noticed how his parents were around each other. Like when Jack unconsciously putting an arm around her and would watch her with a look on his face Jesse knew belonged only to her. Just as she would smile or laugh at ever joke he made, even the lame ones. 

The drive home, to Sam's house, was a pleasant one. There was always some talk about something going on or what happened at the restaurant. It made Jesse think about how it had been before the mirror and the SGC and the Gou'ald and everything going on. Of when he had two parents. And, for just a moment, he could actually pretend that they were truly a family and that nothing else mattered the way it really did. 

But the illusion faded away as the jeep pulled up in front of Sam's house. The conversation slowed to nothing as Jack parked the car. For a moment, Sam looked regrettably at her house as if wishing the night wouldn't end. When she looked back at Jack, Jesse was already half way out of the car. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then… Jack."

Jack smiled at the use of his name, once again. She seemed to be getting the hang of calling him such a thing for she no longer stuttered over 'sir'. With a nod, he leaned over a kissed her on the check only then realizing he had overstepped their boundaries. Seeing her blush and look at him with a confused expression, he moved away and called out, "See ya tomorrow, Jesse."

Sam took this time to flee from his car, her blush still visible, even in the dim light of the evening. Jesse smiled but said nothing to further redden her checks. Instead, he merely opened the door to the hallway and escorted her in. 

"Sammie?" He heard his grandfather call from somewhere within the house.

"Yea, dad?" 

"Just seeing who was here," he answered, descending on their position. "Hey, Jesse. You're looking better than the last time I saw you," he told him with a smile on his face. 

"Yea, you look different when I'm not so out of it." Jesse was still in a haze. It wasn't every day you got to see someone alive who, in your mind, is dead. But, then again, for him he _was _doing that every day anyway. 

"So, how was dinner?" Jacob asked as they moved into the house. 

"Good," Jesse said, not sure how comfortable he was talking to his grandfather- or, at least, someone who was almost exactly like his grandfather. "I bet Sam in pool."

"Really? I didn't even know she played," Jacob stated, casting an amused smile at his daughter, who merely shrugged. 

"Yea, she's pretty good but… I'm afraid I was taught by the best."

"And who's that?" Sam asked, not previously told who had taught him all of his skill. 

"My gr-" But Jesse stopped before finishing. Looking up at Jacob's expectant look, he said, flatly, "My grandfather. We used to play all the time before…" Jacob just nodded. He hadn't thought of how seeing all of these people he knew to be dead was affecting him. 

"Um," Jesse stuttered, swallowing his long pent-up tears, "I here there's a baseball game on tonight. Do you watch?"

"I haven't seen a baseball game in almost five years. I'd love to watch," Jacob told him, smiling. He was glad to know that Jesse was trying to move past his mourning but hesitant to push the boy too far. 

Plopping down on Sam's sofa, he looked at the TV screen Jesse had just turned on. The channels flipped past as he surfed through the stations trying to find the correct one. Jesse watched the channels change and remembered how much he had thought of the Quantum Mirror as a television changing channels as his mother moved to different realities.

He stopped suddenly as his eyes caught the familiar stadium. The fans were standing as the national anthem played in the background and the pair knew the game was about to start. When it came to an end, the crowd was in an uproar as they cheered the start of the game. 

Sam watched from the next from, smiling as she saw her father and son clicking so well. She knew Jesse had his reservations about letting anyone in but was slowly starting to warm up to his new world. Her father, on the other hand, seemed thrilled to have a new grandchild. Now both his children had made a family for themselves, no matter how messed up hers was. 

Shaking her head with a smile, she went about tidying her house, hearing the occasional shout of joy or dismay from the TV room. 

**Sam's House, Kitchen**

Unlike at his father's house, Jesse always woke before Sam did. He would shower before her in the morning and eat while she finished with her own shower. He could hear the water running through the pipes as he rinsed off his dishes. 

As he was drying his hands off, the annoying sound of the telephone ringing hit his ears. Walking over to it, he reluctantly picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Jesse? This is General Hammond. Is Major Cater available?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I think she just got out of the shower. I'll… go get her."

"No! Just tell her to report to the mountain immediately. And have her bring Jacob with her." The General hung up his phone before Jesse was even able to respond. Nodding to himself, he too put the phone on the receiver and ran up the stairs to find his mother.

Jesse recalled similar phone calls to his old house. It had never been the General, but others he assumed worked at the SGC. Once, it had been his father that had called. His mom had to leave immediately and he was told to wait at the neighbors'. He did that a lot: wait next door. Every time he sat, wishing he could do something. It had always stuck in his mind that his parents could be in danger but he never knew the extent until just recently. 

Once up the stairs, he saw Jacob moving slowly out of the guestroom. He seemed paler than usual and sick. His slow movements enforced that thought in Jesse's mind but he knew the General's voice meant he was desperately needed at the mountain- no exceptions. 

"Jacob, General Hammond just called. He said he needed you and Sam at the mountain immediately."

Jacob took more time than normal to process this information but nodded in the end and said with a weak voice, "Alright." Moving past Jesse, he walked down stairs and left it obvious that it was his job to inform Sam. 

Which he did. Less than ten minutes later, the bunch was in the car and heading for Cheyenne Mountain as fast as the law would allow. 

**SCG, Infirmary**

A guard was ordered to escort Jesse down the hall and to the Infirmary while Sam and Jacob stayed on the elevator and went wherever it was they were going. Though Jesse knew exactly where he was going, he knew it made them feel better to think that he would be protected ever outside of their watch. 

Once to the door of his destination, he looked inside but didn't spot Janet. He continued his way into the room, the Sergeant walking away knowing that his charge had been delivered to where he was supposed to be. 

"Hey!" The familiar voice caused Jesse's head to snap in the direction the voice had come from. 

"Hi," he said with a smile, knowing it to be the Japanese woman he met the other day. "Where's Janet, I thought I might help out again while my… while Sam's here." Jesse surprised himself by almost saying 'mom' aloud; that was something he only thought of her in his mind, not aloud to others. 

"Oh, she's at the same briefing. But, you can help me out," Nurse Ishikawa told him. 

"Ok, but, um… what's going on?" Jesse asked. He was worried for both his parents, not to mention his ill grandfather. 

With her back turned to him, she said, with an uncertain voice, "I'm… I'm not sure. I don't know, no tells me anything." A smile had been plastered on her face as she turned back to him and finished with her normal, perky attitude. 

He was a teenager, he knew that, but he just wished that adults would see he was mature enough to hear the truth. Telling him lies he could see straight through only made it worse. Made him worry far more than if he had heard nothing. 

"What do you really know?" 

Hiding her frustration, Nariko said, "Just help me out with the stocking, please. I'm sure someone will tell you later." Sighing, Jesse nodded and obediently moved to go to work again. 

**Alpha Cite**

The smell was awful. Worse than that. Even through the protective suits, you could easily taste it; taste and smell the sent hanging heavily in the damp air. 

Janet, accompanied by a large medical unit, SG-1- devoid of Teal'c- and Jacob stepped through the 'gate and saw what horrors something had brought. It was no longer the alive, buzzing community that SG-1 had visited only days before. No smoke came from the fires nor could you smell the food being prepared. 

Continuing on, the group past by a large pile of lifeless bodies- men, women, and even children. It was as if they had been put there in hopes their burial could come as soon as possible. But, as the pile seemed to grow ever higher and the bottom corpses rotted to the point that they were unrecognizable, that seemed even less likely. 

As they grew even closer to the settlement, groans of pain and screams of delusion greeted the team's ears. Dozens were lying on the ground, some unconscious, some dead, some trying to pray as their life slowly faded away. 

One Jaffa in particular stood out to Jack. He remembered seeing her not long before they had left. She was a young woman of about eighteen. Her long dark hair was tangled and hung on her pale face, clinging to the sweat and perspiration. The mark her forehead even seemed paler, lifeless and no longer the over-powering feature that it was on most Jaffa. 

Taking a moment to digest everything they were seeing, Janet hollered, "Alright, we'll, uh… we'll make that building the hospital. Find everyone that's alive and bring them there. Everyone who's dead…" Janet stopped, her arm hanging in mid-air after pointing to the indicated building. She knew what she wanted to say, it was saying it that she found hard. "Put them in the pile. Move out."

The sound in Janet's voice matched everyone else's heart: they all wanted to cry, to mourn what they were seeing. But it was not the time for that. No, they needed to work to save those who left.

**SGC, Infirmary**

Jesse watched as the hours ticked away. Slowly, the time passed five hours- much longer than he thought the briefing should have lasted. Nariko continued to give him work to do, trying to keep him busy as she worked on something of her own. 

She often entered the Infirmary, took a few things, and brought them somewhere else. Only to come back and repeat the process. Jesse was tempted to follow her and see what it was that she was doing, but refrained from it knowing that he could get in more trouble than he wanted at the moment. 

Inside, he watched over the quiet room, knowing soon that something was going to happen. The tension was ever growing; something was brewing. He noticed it in all of the nurses, doctors, and even the MP's. 

All but one of them. A taller, dark haired man in his late twenties. No matter where Jesse seemed to be in the Infirmary, he seemed to be watching with his grey, almost lifeless eyes. He showed no hint of emotion nor did he seem anxious of whatever it was that was going on. He just watched. Watched Jesse. 

**Alpha Cite**

After organizing the Jaffa, Janet counted at least one hundred and fifty alive yet seriously ill while over one hundred was dead. Jack, on his part, asked around and it seems that Ray'ac had left with another Jaffa on a week long mission somewhere before the outbreak had even started. Hearing from others and seeing it for themselves, it seemed that Bra'tac was, somehow, immune to the virus for he had been helping the others. 

With this knowledge, Janet had spent time taking blood samples of some of the Jaffa- including Bra'tac. Then she returned to the Stargate with SG-1 and Jacob, remorsefully happy to be leaving the planet and getting away from the horrible smell and sight. 

**SGC, Base Room**

After another hour of waiting and helping, Jesse was escorted out of the Infirmary and brought to one of the base rooms and told to wait there. Through the entire trip, he could hear the loud klaxons he remembered and the bright red lights glaring on the walls. At the same time, a foreign voice yelled out that there was an incoming traveler. 

Once at his newest room, the door closed and he knew there was a guard standing outside of it, limiting his chance of slipping away unnoticed. But he had a feeling he could do it. That he could figure out a way to distract the guards long enough that he could run away without notice. To run somewhere that he could find out what was going on; to find out _something _before it drove him insane. 

Cracking the door open, he could hear the sounds of people walking in and around the hall. But Jesse ignored it, hoping that it didn't harm his efforts to get away. 

"Excuse me," he said to the guard, stepping out of the room. 

"You're not supposed to be out of your room," she told him, her young voice almost unsure of itself. 

"I know, I was just wondering… could I have something to drink. I'm really thirsty." 

"I don't know, I'm not supposed to leave your door." 

Jesse put on his best possible pout and acted as if he were much younger than he truly was. "Please. I swear I won't go anywhere." 

The guard's face shifted between stern and commanding, to unsure before she submitted to Jesse and said, "Alright. But only if you go in your room and stay there until I get back. Promise?"

"I promise," Jesse said in his best possible innocent voice to prove that he wasn't lying. And, just to prove his point, he stepped back inside the room and slowly closed it behind him.

Listening hard to the hall outside of him, he heard the guard walk away. Once he felt secure enough to know that the guard was, indeed, gone, he reopened the door and looked around. Cautiously, he walked out of his room and closed the door behind him once again. 

With a stealth he rarely possessed, Jesse made his way to the Infirmary. He had a feeling something was going to happen there, he just wasn't sure what yet. After what he felt in the Infirmary, he had a feeling something was going to happen. And maybe it was there. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

After sneaking in through the opened doors, Jesse was able to glimpse his parents along with Daniel and Jacob getting checked out. Watching, he could see a distance in their eyes he couldn't possibly understand. While the nurses inspected them, he watched as Janet came from the same place Nurse Ishikawa always went to. 

Watching from the shadows, his ears strained themselves to see if he could overhear anything. 

"Well," Janet began as the ever stoic Teal'c, his partners in SG-1, and Jacob gathered around the petite doctor. "I've finished my analyze of the blood samples. There is no sign of the viral strand in either Bra'tac, myself, and SG-1. Jacob, however, does. I don't understand."

For a moment, it caught Jacob by surprise. But, after that moment, he understood. "So that's why I've been feeling so lousy."

It was meant more as a joke, but Janet took it quite seriously. Stepping closer to him, she felt his head and cheeks. "You're running a fever. For how long have you felt like this?"

"Since this mourning," he replied. 

"Then he didn't get it at the Alpha Cite?" Daniel asked. 

"If he felt sick before then… who… or what have they both been in contact with?" Janet muttered the last to herself. With sudden clarity, she recalled, "The viral stand! Jesse had one almost identical. This one in Jacob and the Jaffa, it's just a mutated version."

"Well, Jesse survive," Daniel said with hope. 

"But not the symbiote," she answered, her voice grim. Thinking through some of the other details, she recalled an early question she had been asking herself. Why was Bra'tac the only Jaffa who was spared? And, with the new discovery, it was reasonable to assume it spared Teal'c as well. 

"The symbiote."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked the doctor who had been starring into space for the past two minutes. 

"The symbiote," she said as if that explained everything. "That's what attracts the virus. It's as if it can sense it and, when it has physical contact, it knows to spread to that body. Which would explain why we or Brac'tac don't have."

"None of the unexposed have a Gou'ald symbiote," Teal'c stated. To Jesse, this was more than confusing. What did he mean that he didn't have a symbiote? He could sense it far where he was.

"After they started taking the tretonin, they don't need their symbiotes."

"So what are we going to do, make them all get ride of their Gou'alds and start taking the medicine?" Jack quipped. "And how could _this_ be Jesse's fault?"

"It's not Jesse's fault, it's just the virus he had. Most likely it spread to the Jaffa when he touched one of them there. From what I heard, he and Jacob spent most of yesterday night together, they may have accidentally touch and the virus spread."

"What I still don't get, is how it kills? If it's only attracted to certain people and then how did Jesse survive when all these Jaffa didn't?" Jacob asked. 

"From what I can tell, it attacks the symbiote. Once it's dead, the virus seems to become dormit, like waiting in the blood. But, for the Jaffa, the virus has essentially destroyed their immune system. In a few extra hours, they're dead. For Jesse, it just killed his Gou'ald. But, for the Tok'ra, I have no idea. It may work much the same as it did with Jesse… but Selmak will die if I don't find a cure." Jacob nodded and worked with the nurse as she put him onto one of the many beds. 

"I should get Jesse- take another blood sample and see if I can find the antibody," Janet stated, her voice trying to be withdrawn. 

"You won't find one." The deep voice of an unknown man startled not only Janet but the small group. Turning, they saw a tall man in his late twenties. He was an MP, but not one recognized by any of the SGC officers. 

"Who are you?" Jack said, his voice daring him not to answer. 

"No one you know." And he took the dare. His grey eyes just watched the group, seeing all, missing nothing. But they showed none of the natural emotion most eyes held, giving him an eerie gleam about him. 

"What do you mean that I won't find one?"

"I mean, there isn't anything to find. It is still in him just dormit. Like in all the others. This virus could easily destroy you, perhaps you should destroy it first." As the man turned to leave, Jesse saw that he was the same man whose eyes followed him through the Infirmary. With sudden revelation, Jesse realized his and the man's eyes met and held each other. 

"By the way," his voice added as his body turned to face the group. "Jesse's hiding over there. He's not one for waiting and being ignored." With that, he walked away and out of the room, leaving them with a riddle and no idea.

"That… was weird," Jack stated, his eyes moving from the doorway the man had just exited to where he said Jesse was. How he knew his name, what he looked like, how he knew him, or how he knew anything of what he knew was complete mystery. 

"Jesse! Come here, now!" Janet scolded him, her demanding voice reaching across the room easily. 

Reluctantly, Jesse rose from his hiding place, trying to ignore the stares of the six adults and any other on-looker who had nothing better to do. His face was the perfect mask: expertly hiding his fear of what he had hear, embarrassment of being caught, and guilt that _he_ had been the one to spread a disease to so many others. 

When Jesse reached their side, he saw how much worse Jacob had became in the last few hours. He was much paler and he had begun to sweat: the first few symptoms that Jesse remembered as he was watched by the Gou'ald and Jaffa.

Looking to Janet, he saw her short lived anger had just ran out and he was close to home free on that front. Stepping up to him, she bent slight to make her eyes level with his and took his arms in her hands. "Jesse, how long have you been there?" 

Jesse just shrugged and said, "Since you walked in." 

"That means he's heard everything," Daniel mumbled for they all knew that. 

Ignoring what Daniel had said, she continued, "Do you understand what we said?"

Jesse looked at the ground when he said, "Kind of. I understand that I have some kind of virus in my system that spreads when I touch people. That I gave it to Jacob and the Jaffa. That it kills symbiotes. And that you won't find it in blood tests because it goes dormit after it kills the symbiote."

The last part Janet knew she had never said. But he solved the clue. "What did you say?"

Jesse looked at her. He had listened to everything and made that connection, he just assumed she did too. "I said, that you won't find it on blood tests after awhile like the Airman said. You said the virus showed signs of going into dormancy, I would assume that's only after it completed its job of killing the symbiote."

Janet, for her part, looked up at Sam. He may be smart, but he was quick as well. "I should get back to the lab, see what I can find out. And find that Airman. I need to talk with him… before it's too late." 

Jack nodded. She may not have been his superior officer- the opposite, actually- but he knew when to follow an order of hers. Standing, he called over two of the MP's stationed in the Infirmary. After informing them of the other Airman's appearance and to find him, they nodded their understanding and walked away. 

Jesse didn't bother listening to any of the words, he just knew what the context was about. After he watched their feet stomp away, he saw another pair walk up to his father and then to him. 

"Jesse, I need you to go with him. Just until this is over." 

Looking into his father's caring eyes, he shook his head, saying, "No, I wanna stay and help."

"Not now… not with this. Please, Jesse, listen to me. Go with him and _stay_." Jesse may have learned to test his limits with his teachers in school and to do some extreme things when he knew that he could get away with it, but he never tested his parents beyond a certain point. And that tone was it. 

Reluctantly, he slipped off the bed and sauntered over to the newest guard assigned to watch over him. As he started to move away from the bed his parents and their friends were around, a smile grew over his face at the realization his last 'guard' must be frantic about her missing charge. That would be an interesting moment.

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Okay, okay. So Janet probably would have caught on too. But, whatever. I'm just trying to make the kid look smarter by making everyone else dumber. But you all knew that, right? Of course you did. 

Please R/R and tell me what you think so far. Any comments about the Jaffa or whatever would be nice. 


	12. Answers in Riddles

Author's Note: Ok, so I decided to post this one early. But don't think I'll be this soft again. this is a once in a lifetime thing. and only because I had the time right now. 

But, on a lighter note, thanks for all the reviews you guys gave me. Not that I'm trying to, oh I don't know, take away your time or test your typing skills or anything, I was just wondering (just a sidenote, unimportant really) if, in the reviews, more. detail would be appreciated. Otherwise, I'm loving the amount of reveiws. Really, thanks. 

Summary: As Jacob grows worse and worse, what will help him survive? How can Jesse help with that?

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Chapter Twelve:

Answers in Riddles

Without much thought of what the Airman was saying, Jesse walked, dejectedly, through the door and into his base room. The Airman, obviously seeing this, ended what he was saying and closed the door. When Jesse's ears picked up on this, he plopped his body on the uncomfortable bed. 

Pulling his knees up to his chest, he tried hard to stop the shaking of his body. To stop the well of tears he knew wanted to fall. And, for what seemed like eons, he accomplished that. But, it was only until one stray tear managed to pass through his control, did the rest follow. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

"What's your name?" After years of practice, Jack could easily void his face and voice of all emotions- something he found came in handy when dealing with interrogations. 

One they had found the mysterious Airman, the MP's were able to easily apprehend him. After which, he was sent to the Colonel and SG-1 still waiting in the Infirmary. He was quiet and not saying much but he seemed like a reasonable man that they might be able to get something more than a riddle out of. 

"Lieutenant William Ward, United States Air Force. Serial number 656-527B," was all he said in response. 

"You're not a prisoner, Lieutenant. We just wanted to ask you what you meant earlier," Jack assured him. 

But he didn't respond as Jack had anticipated. His eyes flashed with a sad yet angry look before his eyes were again lifeless and stone. "I only meant that you are dealing with a very dangerous virus. One that can save your world or destroy it." 

"'Your world'?" Don't you mean 'our world'?" Daniel said, catching the slight misused of the word. 

"No, this is not _my _world just as it is not Jesse's."

"You mean. you're from an alternate reality?" Sam questioned. 

He looked her over a minute; his cold eyes taking in more than her appearance. "Yes, Major. I'm the only other that survived. I am the one who found this place. The owl sent to watch, perched in silence in the dark." Again, his responses were confusing but held a more symbolic and full answer. 

"You mean, they sent you ahead in order to scout out a place where he could live? And then you were told to stay and watch him?" It was a good thing they had Daniel, he was the only one that ever seemed to understand these types of problems quick enough for the amount of time they had to spend solving them. 

The passive eyes strayed from their hold on Sam to look at Daniel. With a similar motion, they surveyed him. But, rather than acknowledge Daniel, he just starred him in the eye. A shiver ran down Daniel's back causing goosebumps to form all down his back and on his arms. 

As if dismissing the man entirely, he moved his attention back to Jack. "The answer you seek is now hidden in Jesse's body just as the events his life has taken are hidden in his mind. He knows the answer, he just doesn't know he knows."

With that said, the Lieutenant retook his former position; his back to the team and his mouth firmly shut. He wouldn't say any more- that was for sure. Not that what he had said meant much to the team beyond where he came from and why he was there.

"Did he say anything?" Janet asked as she walked back into the Infirmary from the Med Lab. 

"Nothing that wasn't in riddles," Daniel quipped. 

At his comment, she looked over at Sam with a confused look. "His name is Lieutenant William Ward. It appears that he was sent to find a _suitable_ home for Jesse and then stay here to keep an eye on him. Something about the virus being extremely dangerous and then something about how the answers are hidden in Jesse's body and mind. Or something."

"He said it all in nice riddles, though," Jack comment. 

Janet, still bewildered, walked over to their 'prisoner'. Sitting down in the chair still placed in front of him, she asked, "Do you know what the antibody is?"

Again, his eyes took her in; found the similarities and differences before logging them far into his mind. "Sometimes an innocent child had not been quite as innocent as he is believed to be. Just as some children are smarter than ever thought they might."

While Janet's mind quickly tried to understand his words, his mind shifted back into its watching mode and his mouth was shut down. Nothing would come out of him if that was his wish- something commendable if not so frustrating. 

With a sigh, the Doctor turned to her friends and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

But Daniel, the only mind that ever got these types of puzzles, wasn't listening. Instead, he was working the words in his head. Applying to different meanings as he tried to solve the riddle they had been given. 

"Daniel?" 

With a start, the linguist came out of his trance. "I don't know. But I'll work on it."

"Alright, I should get back to work."

"Any luck yet?" Sam asked before her friend could get too far. 

"Not yet, but I could use a hand," she said, implying that she wanted Sam to come help out. Taking the hint, she looked to Jack and he nodded. After given the ok, she followed Janet into the back lab. 

**SGC, Base Room**

"Hey, Jesse," Jack said as he walked through the door to Jesse's room. He knew the kid was trying hard to be patient but it wasn't easy with everything going on. "How you doing?" 

Jesse moved his head slowly from where it had begun to rest. With his back toward the door and his body laying on its side, he didn't bother to move more than necessary to see his father: merely the movement of his head; turning it slightly to see behind him for only a second. 

Jack noticed this, along with the stains of long dried out tears on his cheeks. Moving closer to the bed, he said, "Janet says Jacob's still doin' pretty good. He's got a good chance." But his voice betrayed him. It wasn't overly confident in itself much less words he knew to be more a lie than the truth. 

He stayed quiet for some time, letting Jesse decide if he wanted to talk. But he didn't, he just lay there, waiting for Jack to speak or go or something. And Jack did:

"The Airman, the one who knew where you were in the Infirmary, we found him. He told us some stuff, interesting things really. that is if I could understand them. He said that you knew the secret to finding the cure for Jacob and the other Jaffa. At least I think that's what he said."

Jesse's body shook a little as a small laugh was released from his lips. His father always loved the confused routine, no matter how smart he truly was. This Jack was just like that, only he played dumb all the time and was much better than his real father had ever been at it. 

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Jack's voice had stayed softened but grew more serious when he asked his question. But Jesse just shrugged. He was learning things about the SGC every day he didn't know that he knew; maybe this would be one of them, maybe not. "Are you sure?" 

__

The red light on the walls blinded him as he was pushed through the hall by the young doctor. She slammed her fist on the wall and seemed to wait impatiently as the door opened. It was as if she knew something bad was coming. Something that she needed to get him and herself away from. 

The moment the door had opened to half her height, she and the tiny, young boy were inside the door. Without thinking or waiting, the doctor hit the override button and forced the door to close, blocking out all outsiders and the terrible thing the boy knew must be coming. 

The table standing in the middle of the table had not even bothered with and the chemicals and experiments were left untouched. The read-headed doctor pushed the boy toward the table, her pure white lab coat hanging over his eyes and causing him to be almost hidden by the fabric. 

With an annoyed movement, he pushed the material away and out of his eyes as he peered over the table with a curiosity gleaming in his eyes- the danger momentarily forgotten. On it sat a piece of paper with the most intricate design, yet, at the same time, the most interesting one he had ever seen. 

It was like a slide that twisted only this one went on and on. His mind was entangled with it as it took in every detail and twist it had to offer. Every letter printed neatly and clearly on the sides. Not even the minutest detailing of the paper escaped his eyes. He could have stood there forever, admiring the picture. Forever until he heard shots being fired outside of the huge door and felt the doctor grab him and pull him under the table.

Jesse merely blinked and looked up at his dad as he pushed the dreamy haze out of his mind. By then, these types of things were becoming more normal for him. Only, this time, it was one of the most important moments he had remembered. He remembered the cure. Or, perhaps, the disease's chemical makeup. Which ever, he could save them. Save all of those he had hurt. 

**SGC, Med Lab**

After stealing a piece of paper from the MP's desk, Jesse drew a quick sketch of what he remembered and brought it with him as he and Jack moved swiftly through the dark, empty corridors of the SGC. Working their way through the mountain, the pair made it to the Med Lab in half the time it normally took. 

"Sir?" Sam asked as she saw the two walk in, unannounced. 

"Jesse thinks he may have something for you," Jack told them. Without a word, he shyly handed over the paper and hoped that it was enough. That it was the right thing that they needed. 

"What is it?" Sam inquired. 

"It's an antibody," Janet stated. "Where. where did you see this?"

"On that table nine years ago. I've. I've been remembering when I was here as a boy. I remember seeing you working in this room. That picture was on the table. It was. only a few minutes before I became host to that Gou'ald. I thought it might be important," Jesse explained. That was the first time he had told anyone about his dreams. 

In a manner close to brushing his help off, Janet looked down at the paper and took in everything about it. Looking it over, she thought it stood a good chance of being exactly what they needed. 

For Jesse's part, he didn't even notice Janet's sudden lack of interest in him. He, instead, was taking in the entire room. Looking up at the observation room where he had stood, watching Janet work. The table that he had hid under. The beakers with solutions in them- the one that had cut him and allowed the virus to enter his system. The door the Gou'ald had entered. 

"We should get going on this," Jesse vaguely heard Janet say to Sam before his father's large hands where on his shoulders escorting him out of the room and out of their way. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Jesse watched in silence as the needle containing the newest cure was delicately injected into his grandfather's veins. But, rather than watching Janet, he looked over his grandfather. His face was pale and soaked with sweat. The disturbed look on his sleeping face showed how unsettling his dreams were becoming. The IV lines running through his arms pumped drugs into him, keeping him unconscious rather than delusional. 

He hated to see him like that. To see him sick and in a hospital bed. Close to death. just like last time. Last time when the Tok'ra couldn't save him either. He was on his own to fight but he never made it through the ordeal. And, Jesse knew, if he didn't survive this time it would be all his fault. 

Slowly, the needle was pulled out. Jacob's relief was obvious. He no longer appeared to be as troubled in his sleep but neither the paleness nor sweat was reduced. With a quick check, Janet turned around, her look solemn. 

"His fever is starting to drop. I think it worked. I'll have to check again later, but. I should get this to the Alpha Cite. to help the Jaffa." 

"Right," Jack responded, his voice just as out of it as Janet seemed to. He could see in her eyes that she wasn't looking forward to going back there and seeing whatever it was that was there. "Do you want us to come with you or."

"Yeah," Janet answered after a short pause then preceded to get more of the drug created. 

Sam, forgetting the others ill with the virus, rushed to her father's side. She recalled with brutal clarity when she nursed Jesse back to health when he was sick with the same thing. With a few words whispered into his ear and a kiss on the check, she moved away from him and joined her waiting teammates at the door. 

But Jesse was left there. Whether they thought that he could wait until they returned or they had forgotten about him, Jesse didn't know. But he did know that he was being left there with his ill grandfather who, hopefully, was recovering at that very moment. 

Resisting the urge to huge and kiss him while begging to be forgiven, Jesse sat stoic in his seat merely watching his chest rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern. Hearing the monitors beep steadily with his heart. Listening to the constant movement all around him. Taking nothing while, at the same time, taking in everything. Missing nothing yet everything. Allowing the room to disappear around him while never forgetting where he was. 

**SGC, Briefing Room (Five Hours Later)**

"So how did it go?" General Hammond addressed the Colonel, Major, Dr. Jackson, and Dr. Fraser. They all looked a little worse for wear and defeated but fine, for the most part. 

"Judging by the bodies we found. there. were three hundred and thirty-seven Jaffa," Janet began, fighting hard to hold back her tears as the mental images of what she had seen came back to her. 

"And?"

Taking a deep breath, Janet looked back at the General and said, "By the time we got back, there were eighty-five left. Only fifty-seven responded to the cure. The others died. SG teams burned the bodies to keep the virus from spreading back to them after Bra'tac identified as many as he could."

The rest of SG-1 remained quiet as they, too, recalled the horrible condition the Alpha Cite was in. The smell had only worsened since they had left and the body count risen. What he once been a thriving community was almost nothing. 

"We left the medical team there to tend to the Jaffa until they get better and promised to bring supplies to help fix the place up," Jack added. 

"Very well. Dismissed," the General said, concluding the debriefing. "Go get cleaned up," the General said, his voice no longer firm and commanding but more of a fatherly, kind tone they knew him to possess. Afterward, he stood and walked back to his office. 

But he never made it that far. The moment the Airman had the door opened, alarms blared and Sergeant Davis's voice came over the PA saying, "Incoming Traveler!" Rushing down the stairs, the entire briefing quickly took in the situation. 

"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir," the technician told them. 

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, wondering what they wanted now. 

Within seconds, two figures emerged from the shimmering blue light. Both were clad in the normal dark brown Tok'ra uniforms. The first one, the female, held nothing in her hands while the other, the male, carried a small yet protected box. Though it was no larger ten by fifteen centimeters, it was easy to see something extremely important or extremely dangerous was in there. 

Only once the group made their way into the 'gate room did Hammond order the MPs to lower their weapons. This seemed to please the two Tok'ra who were looking around the room with a distinct air of disapproval. 

"I am General Hammond. This is Colonel-"

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1. Major Samantha Carter, daughter of the Tok'ra Jacob Carter. Dr. Daniel Jackson, the Tau'ri who _unlocked_ the _secrets_ of the Stargate for Earth. And Dr. Janet Fraser, a supreme doctor for the Tau'ri. Yes, we know you," the female said, her voice computerized, showing that her symbiote was in control. 

"I am Terrel, my symbiote is Guin. This is my associate, Krote, and her host, Ayrn," the male said, his voice deep and normal. Sam looked into his deep, brown eyes and saw something she rarely saw in a Tok'ra: almost nothing. 

"Is there something we can do for you, Terrel, Krote?" Hammond asked. 

"In this box, we believe we have the virus Horus was attempting to make," Krote said. 

"Already?"

"Horus was close to completing it. We merely started were he left off," she explained, looking at Sam, who had asked the question. 

"And. you want us to do. what with it?" Jack asked, his voice as skeptical and sarcastic as it ever was when dealing with the Tok'ra. 

"Test it on Horus's facility. At the moment, they pose the most threat to us in relation to the virus. They could easily find a cure if they know about its existence not to mention they'd be the only ones who could find a way to use it against us," Krote informed them. Jack merely raised his eyebrows as a silent objection. 

"We've already seen what this virus can do, first hand. Are you sure you want to risk spreading this thing?" Janet asked. 

"What instance are you talking about?" Terrel asked. 

"The Rebel Jaffa at the Alpha Cite were recently exposed to this virus, or something close to it. Over two hundred of them died," Sam explained. Their reactions were quick and well covered over. Just like most Tok'ra, they were very good at covering up, as well as expressing, what they were feeling. 

"We still must fight the Gou'ald at whatever cost. Whenever someone signs on to fight _this_ fight, they must be ready to die in it. Just as those Jaffa did," Krote stated. 

"But they didn't die in _this fight_, they died of having no immune system when their Gou'ald died. That is not what they _signed on _for," Janet protested. 

"If you are unwilling to do this, then we will be forced to send one of our operatives. Considering the potential risk of bring it back and contaminating the Tok'ra population, he will be force to die with the rest of them," Krote said, a little more dramatic than need be. 

"Alright, alright. We'll go," Jack said, getting annoyed by the newest Tok'ra they now met. 

Sam's head snapped to look at Jack, confused by this newest behavior. "Are you sure, sir?"

"Yea, whatever. General, requesting permission for the four of us to go, Dr. Fraser included," Jack said, sarcastic yet serious. 

"Very well, get suited up," Hammond said in a way of dismissing them.

**SGC, Infirmary**

Jesse had never moved from his spot on the bed since the others had left him. He didn't know what to do anyhow. He wanted more than his heart could bear to run up there and comfort his grandfather, but knew he could not. Just as he equally wished to run screaming from the building and never return. 

But, rather than doing either, he sat and starred at his motionless grandfather. Sat there and thought. Cried. And, though not overly religious, he prayed once or twice. Prayed for his grandfather's health to improve. Prayed no more had died at his hands. Prayed that everything would be over and he would discover it was all a dream. 

The world seemed thousands of miles away from him. Only the object of his starring seemed real- seemed touchable- in his dazed mind. But, for some reason, the sound of heavy military boots reached his ears and he knew someone was standing behind him. 

"Ever since I can remember. my parents told me that they were in. some kind of elite black-ops team. That's why they had to go away so much. I had no idea. no idea that they would do anything like this. And. and for some reason, this scares me so much more," Jesse confessed to the still-house he knew loomed over him. 

"They were merely trying to protect you, JesseO'Neill," Teal'c reassured him. 

But Jesse shock his head and told him, his voice clouded with doubt and guilt, "No. They blocked me away from an important part of myself. If I would have known. if." But Jesse didn't finish before tears streamed down his cheeks. Teal'c felt some need to comfort the child that O'Neill and the Major had taken under their wings but knew that was not what he needed at that moment. 

He needed an audience. "If I had known, maybe I could have prevented all of the death. Maybe, no one would have died. Maybe. maybe Jacob wouldn't be sick. None of this would have happened if I had only know."

"Some times things happen we have no control over. And, most of the time, there is never a way to change that," Teal'c stated, his voice showing compassion to the naive and innocent child. 

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So? How do you like it? I hope it's still interesting and that you're still hooked. I'd hate to find out otherwise. But, please R/R and tell me how it's going and if there's anything I can change to make it better. (Remember, see A/N at the top, reveiws new idea about reviewing)


	13. It Was Only a Matter of Time

Author's Note: First off, Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you're having fun on this day. Secondly, this is your Valentine's Day Gift, since I can't send you all flowers or chocolate or something. I hope this is a fair enough substitute. Please R/R, I'll take that over flowers any day. 

Summary: What happens when you mix the NID with a deadly virus? And how will a simple kiss between Jack and Sam change their relationship?

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Chapter Thirteen:

It Was Only a Matter of Time

**P3X-9294**

Stepping through the 'gate, the smell of dead and rotting corpses his Jack's nostrils. Looking down, he saw the Jaffa Tanik and his Jaffa had killed. He had seen them on the MALP but it was different when you saw them up close. 

"Strange that they didn't replace their dead," Jack mumbled, his thoughts not earlier discussed. 

As Jack and the rest of his team moved toward where they knew the rings to be, Daniel spoke up by saying, "We just have to infect one person, right?"

"Yea."

"Good. The less time we're up there, the better," Jack stated, an unnerving feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. 

"Yes, s-" Sam stopped, just like the rest of her team, when she saw the five dead Jaffa. 

"What is it?" Janet asked, oblivious to their previous mission's details. 

"None of them show external signs that they died from weaponry. At least three should," Sam told her.

Moving in closer, Janet pulled out her gloves and drew blood from three of the five Jaffa, Sam doing the other two to save time. Collecting the blood samples and putting them in her pack, she turned and addressed Jack when she said, "More of them might have been killed by this."

"What do you think it was?"

Janet looked him straight in the eye when she said, "Jesse's virus. It's the only thing that explains it. Just like at the Alpha Cite, he must have spread it here." 

"Then we should be safe?"

Janet nodded and said, "We should take a look around anyway, see if any of them are still alive to tell us what happened." 

"Right. Come on." Stepping between the trees, Janet, Daniel, and then Sam followed Jack's lead before the rings surrounded them, transporting the team up to the ship. 

**SGC, Infirmary**

Jesse's checks had begun to turn red and puffy as he continued to sit and stare at the man he considered to be is grandfather. He was doing better, that much was certain. Jesse could see that his brow was no longer covered with so much sweat and his dreams were not as distorted and disturbed. 

The nurse came often and took his temperature, checked his vitals, and everything but, never once, did she shoo him away or tell him to go somewhere else. No one did. They all let him be, knowing that it was something he wouldn't take lightly. 

After hours of waiting, Jacob finally opened his blurry eyes, his mind reaching consciousness. He looked around cautiously, as if trying to recall where he was. When he moved his head slowly to the right, he looked to his left where Jesse was seated. 

"Hey," he whispered with a faint smile, his voice hushed and scratchy. 

"Hi," Jesse responded, warily.

"How long you been there?" His question was slurred but understandable. 

"Not long," Jesse said, not wishing him to know the truth of how he had waited there for hours upon hours, hoping and praying for the best. 

Jacob nodded and turned his head back so his eyes were looking up at the ceiling. Slowly, his eyes closed and Jesse knew he had begun to rest again. This time- hopefully- not as long as the first. 

**SGC, Briefing Room (Three Hours Later)**

"There's no doubt about it, General," Janet stated, diving into the topic of the debriefing. "What killed Horus and his Jaffa was definably the virus Jesse spread to the Rebel Jaffa. Not the Tok'ra's synthetic version. We weren't even about the release it when we came upon the first few Jaffa."

"Could it spread from the dead bodies?" The General asked. 

"I'm not positive. It is possible," Janet informed him. 

"Then have a Hazmat team sent there to burn the bodies," he ordered. "Later, I want a SG team to secure the ship."

"Yes, sir," Jack mumbled, more out of habit than actual obedience. 

"I think it's safe to assume that this virus is uncontrollable. Even an innocent maneuver like that could cause some devastating results if not planned carefully," Sam acknowledged. 

The three Tok'ra sitting around the table, Jacob, Krote, and Terrel, blended in with SG-1. With an agreeing nod, Jacob added his own side, "It would be highly devastating if mixed with the Tok'ra population. With all of our operatives out there, if one of the System Lord's ships were infected, it could easily spread through our own ranks. Not to mention the Rebel Jaffa's."

"That it true, but is the risk not worth the outcome?" Krote asked, her voice neutral yet siding with herself. 

"Not if there's no one but us left to enjoy it," Jack shot back at her. 

"Your point is well taken, Colonel. Until effective safety measures can be taken, there will be no more spread of the material on purpose. We will continue to work with it, however; attempt to find a solution to the problem," Terrel said. 

"Then, at least, let me give you our… cure for it. They may not be identical strains, but it's something to work with," Janet offered, rising from her chair just as the two Tok'ra were.

"That would be most appreciated," he said with a charming smile. "Thank-you for your hospitality." With a bow of the head, he followed Janet out of the room after she had gained silent approval from the General. 

By then, almost the entire table had stood in understanding that they were leaving. Jacob, who had regained his strength and had opted to go back with them, moved away from the table, following Krote to the control room. 

"That went well," Jack whispered to Sam. She just smiled and nodded. 

"I'm… going to go say good-bye to my dad."

"Yea." When Sam had turned her back and began walking away, Jack called out, "Hey, you will be joining us for dinner, right?"

The childish gleam in his eyes, only Sam would recognize, compelled her to agree. With only a knowing smile and a nod of the head, she turned back around and continued on her way to bid farewell to her father. Jack beamed as he shook his head and walked out of the room. 

But Daniel, he merely watched from a safe distance. The General had dismissed himself to his office once the Tok'ra had left, leaving Daniel and Teal'c there. Daniel had always been aware of a fondness and deep affection- perhaps attraction- between the two. But, ever since the appearance of Jesse, things between them seemed to change. To grow almost. Now he would watch their flirting and not see two good friends but…

Daniel stopped his train of thought. It was a good way to overestimate things like that. It was nothing, he repeated to himself. Looking over at Teal'c, he noticed a faint smile lingering on his lips. One that told of his wisdom after eighty years of existence. One that said there was something more there than any of them were ready to admit. 

**Jack's House, Dining Room** 

"I've got the dishes," Jack announced as he stood, beating Sam to it. 

"Then I'll help," Sam said, her voice daring him to say no. Sam had insisted on at least doing the dishes after Jack had cooked, but he wasn't about to let her. With a grin on both faces, the two cleared the table and moved into the kitchen. 

Jesse smiled, even laughed a bit, at his parents' behavior. It was true that his parents were constantly flirting and kissing and all, but, for some reason, it was different when they did it. He couldn't put his finger on why, but that didn't matter. 

Standing up, Jesse moved to the kitchen door and saw his parents close to a water fight with the spray and soap bubble. Laughing at their childish behavior, he got their attention. When they turned their heads, both wearing a large smile, he announced, "I'll be up in my room. Don't kill each other or anything while I'm gone." This earned him a spray of water from his father and a giggle from his mother. 

After calming down a bit, Sam was able to actually clean most of the dish and hand them over to Jack to be rinsed and dried. After handing him the last dish, he pulled out the spray and began cleaning it. 

"If you even think about spraying me…"

"You'll what?" Jack asked, pointing the object at her. 

"Don't even." Sam began backing away from the sink in order to keep as much water off of her, but wound up hitting a counter. Jack took a couple steps closer to her, sprayer in hand. He stopped a mere step away only because the sprayer couldn't go any farther. 

"Jack, I will kill you," Sam said, in vain to stop the glint in his eyes that she knew meant he would spray her. 

"Ok." Surprisingly enough, he put the sprayer down and let it coil back into the sink. But he didn't move away. For some reason, he had meant to but it never happened. Instead, against his mind's best judgment, he moved closer. 

Both Sam and Jack's smiles had disappeared. Their breathing had quickened and their hearts were pounding against their chest. As Jack leaned in closer to Sam, she could feel his hot breath against her face. 

No matter how much her mind screamed that they shouldn't. That she shouldn't. Her body leaned in closer to him, brought their lips a mere inch apart. Then they touched. 

At first, the kiss was hesitant, almost fearful of the other's reaction. Sam's hand found its way to Jack's neck and pulled him closer to her, deepening the kiss. With that, the kiss turned more curious. Their lips parted, allowing their tongues to explore. 

The world had begun to disappear around them, their minds focused only on the other person. Hearing nothing but their hearts pounding, the pair never noticed Jesse in the doorway, watching on with a smile before turning and leaving, his question forgotten. 

When Jesse had came back downstairs after waiting twenty minutes or so, he could feel the tension between the two. He had forgotten through his happiness for them how strict the regulations against their getting together were. It was right to assume that they would be a bit uncomfortable. 

"Hi, Jesse. Do you want to stay here the night or… or go home with Sam?" Jack asked, hearing his descent down the stairs. 

"Uh, I don't mind. Who ever wants to take me to school tomorrow," Jesse said with a shrug, feigning innocents over what had occurred earlier. 

"I will, Jesse. Come on, we should go. It's getting late."

Jesse nodded and gave a quick smile at his father. "See ya tomorrow."

"Ya, kid." Messing up his already disheveled hair, he bid him good-bye. "Carter."

"Sir." 

Jesse winced at the use of their military nicknames. After their silly agreement at the first dinner together, he hadn't heard them use those names in some time. Trying not to show this, he merely opened the door and waited for Sam to exit first. 

Behind them, Jack closer the door with a sigh. He was ready to kill himself. His back leaning up against the door, he banged his head against it, reminding himself of how stupid that stunt had been. Thinking back to those last few minutes, he was ready to kill himself. 

__

His mind screamed that he shouldn't. That they shouldn't. But Sam leaned her body closer to him. With their lips a mere inch apart, their faces continued to move closer until they touched. 

At first, he was hesitant, he wasn't sure how she would take it. But then her hand wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to her, deepening the kiss. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to explore. He couldn't stop himself. 

His hands moved to her sides, holding her even closer to him. Though tempted to roam- to feel her body- Jack managed to control at least that urge. Just as Sam seemed to. Her hand never left his neck, only her other hand joined the first. 

Jack would never know what made him do what he did next. Maybe it was his conscious after all. Maybe his mind was finally able to catch up to his body. Perhaps it was the pure and simple need for oxygen. Or, maybe, it was something he would never know about. But he broke off the kiss. Moving his lips away from hers, he rested his forehead on hers as they both fought to control their breathing. 

Looking into her eyes, he could see the same doubt and uncertainty about what had just happened. The same fear he knew was now rocking his entire core. They could never go back nor could they ever move forward. Just an unwanted stall. Limbo, if you will. 

Despite himself, Jack smiled. They had kissed before, technically. He had kissed one of her counterpoints in another reality and her in one of the loops he had been in just as she had kissed him when she was under the influence of an alien virus but it was never like this. This was _his _Sam in real time so that she would remember. Maybe, in some way, that was good. Maybe it wasn't. At that moment, he was only sure of one thing: that nothing would ever be the same. 

**SGC, Sam's Lab**

Sam starred down at her computer, none of the words registering in her mind. The large words seemed just out of her reach at that moment. She was still too shaken up about the whole kiss the previous night to think. To feel. 

Sam's feelings for Jack had always caught her at a loss. She knew she felt strongly for him and cared deeply but love… love was not something she gave herself the luxury of thinking about when it came to the Colonel. 

A knock at her door brought her mind back down to Earth. Out of habit, she called out to the person to enter without looking away from her computer screen. The footsteps alerted her to the fact that it was, indeed, Jack. Most likely coming to talk to her about the other night. 

Reluctantly, she turned when he said, "Hey, Carter. Can we talk about… about last night."

She had hoped to have longer to process all of that longer but, she knew, with everything going on in her life and Jesse and how closely they had to work together, time was another luxury she didn't get to think about either. 

With a slight shake of the head, she looked up in his chocolate brown eyes and said, almost pleading, "Not now. Not… here." Jack nodded, understanding. It was too soon for her. Hell, it was too soon for him but he knew they needed to talk. 

For a time, they stayed quiet. Neither knowing what to say or how to say it. Suddenly, Sam's phone rang, making both jump a little. 

Sam stood and walked past the Colonel, trying hard not to touch him, before picking up her phone. "Carter."

"Major, I need you and SG-1 up here in the briefing room, now! If you can find the Colonel, bring him with you," General Hammond's voice said, hurriedly, over the phone before he promptly hung up without even giving Carter the opportunity to agree. 

"Who was that?"

"The General. He said to report to the briefing room." Carter didn't look at him. Instead she started for the door. But Jack was quicker. He stopped her by stepping in front of her retreating form. "Please move. We don't have time to talk now."

Jack noticed that she didn't look up at him and decided to correct that. Putting two fingers underneath her chin, he made her look up at him. "Just tell me that we'll be ok."

Sam heard the pleading in his voice. Unsure as to how she could answer, she merely said, "I don't know if we will." With that she maneuvered herself around him and out of the room. With a defeated sigh, Jack slammed his fist on the table and followed her out. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School, Social Studies Class**

"I didn't get to see you this weekend," Alyssa whispered to him as they worked together on their World War Two worksheet. 

Jesse gave a weak smile and replied, "I'm sorry about that. I… had to visit my grandfather. He wasn't feeling well."

"I'm sorry."

"No, he's feeling a lot better now. Back on his feet and everything. I guess you could say he's a quick healer," Jesse said, telling her the story yet nothing at all. 

"That's good. I would hate to hear that something happened to him."

"Yea, but he's tough. Even been through a lot," Jesse told her with a sad nod. A memory of them as children, her comforting him after he told her the news of his grandfather's death, returning to him. "We should finish this."

"Right. Ok, 'which countries made up the Allied Powers'?" Alyssa read, looking at him for the answer. 

"Uh, Great Britain, America, Russia, and… uh… I don't remember," Jesse said, thinking back to what his class had talked about considering they had been a few weeks ahead of this reality. 

"France."

"Right," Jesse scolded himself for not remembering as Alyssa and he wrote down the answer. "The next question is… 'How did the U.S stay neutral while helping the Allies'?"

"President Roosevelt asked congress to adjust neutrality laws. They had Britain buy weapons in cash and send them back to their country in their own ships. And… the U.S. gave some of their destroyers on lease to Britain," Alyssa answered. 

"It's not fair, you were here when we went over this stuff," Jesse complained quietly as he wrote down her answer. 

"You'll get it. It's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say." Alyssa smiled but didn't encourage him any further than that. 

**SGC, Briefing Room**

When Sam walked into the room, she could easily guess what had caused the General's urgency. Two men, both dressed in black suits, sat at the briefing table- their mere demeanor enough to put you on guard. 

Chancing a glance at Jack, she saw his distant, unfocused look on his face, one she knew she had caused. He was purposely distancing himself from her as if thinking it was what she wanted. But, at that point, she had no idea what she wanted. 

Bowing her head in guilt, she sank into her seat all the while wishing she could just disappear in the material for a few hours. Just to think and get away from everything for a while- if not to get away from her aggravating life. 

But that didn't seem to be what was about to happen. When Jack plopped down into the seat next to her, she heard Daniel and Teal'c enter the room and the General's office door open. With little enthusiasm, she stood and saluted the man she had more respect for than she did for any other person (SG-1 excluded).

"Have a seat," he said, gruffly, as he took his own seat at the front of the table. "SG-1, this is Major Green and Captain Bennett, NID." Those three simple letters immediately brought all of SG-1 to attention and put them on their guards. 

"What does the NID want with us today?" Jack joked, his sarcasm not as pronounced as his anger was. 

"We know of your little… virus you and the Tok'ra are working on," Major Green stated, his voice simple yet mysterious. 

"And your point?" Jack countered again. 

"My point is, you- alone and without orders- had it declared illegal to produce. Without even notifying us of its existence," Green explained. 

"I didn't know that we answered to you now. I thought we still reported to the President and the Air Force. Maybe if you give your phone number, I'll call you on all of my missions to make sure I'm doing it right." Again, Jack seemed to be acting like a jerk, letting his emotions run wild and aiming them at the NID officers. 

Ignoring Jack's sarcasm and quips, Green continued and said, "We want the virus or the kid. It's your choice, but we're getting one, trust me." Standing, as if to leave, he finished with, "And trust me, if you say no to both, you may never find the child." With those last words, he and Captain Bennett left the room and, presumably, the building. 

Green's words were enough to snap Jack out of his self-pity. Suddenly realizing what he had meant, Jack confirmed, "They're going to take Jesse. Sir-?"

"Go!" General Hammond said without even letting him finish his question. Without thought, Jack and Sam were out of their chairs and racing through the halls to get to an elevator while Teal'c and Daniel followed a few paces behind. 

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Well, I guess I'll just leave you there… I can't wait to see what happens! *jumps up at down like a four-year-old* What will happen next? R/R and tell what you think… same about the kiss… what do you think about that? Kinda worked out nicely with Valentine's Day and everything, trust me it wasn't planned in the slightest.


	14. New Extremes

Author's Note: Ok, your right, I have been spelling Gou'ald (sorry, Goa'uld) wrong, but, whatever, you get the gist. I've already got most of this written and its habit so you'll probably have to suffer through the rest of the story like that, sorry. But I'll try to fix that in my future stories. 

As for the periods in the middle of the sentences (as someone inquired about) those are usually used to express a pause or break in the speech. Like, for instance, when you stop to think or rephrase what you want to say. Just thought you'd like to know. 

Otherwise, I'm very thankful about all the responses I got. Thanks. Enjoy the chapter and please R/R

Summary: When the NID want something, they'll go to any extreme to get it and the SGC is finding that out. But how will it affect Jesse?

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Chapter Fourteen:

New Extremes

**Colorado Springs Middle School, Math Class**

On a cool, spring day, Jesse wanted no more than to turn all the clocks forward to escape the hold school always claimed over him and run free in the grass, smelling the freshly blooming flowers. But that would have to wait. Wait another few hours. 

Looking down at his newest math test, his mind was immediately snapped out of his daydream as it began figuring out the complex problem. He was concentrating so hard he barely heard a knock at the closed door. Mrs. Maxwell, his teacher, stood and walked over to the door to answer, careful not to disturb her students. 

"Yes?" She asked off in the distance from Jesse. 

"Do you have a Jesse O'Neill in your class?" A man with a deep voice and a hard face asked. At first, Mrs. Maxwell was surprised to see what he wore: a navy blue Air Force uniform. But then she relaxed and pretended it didn't bother her. 

"Yes, but he's taking a test now."

"Can he make up the test at a later time? His presence is required elsewhere," the man informed her. 

Looking over her shoulder at the young man working hard, she turned back and asked, "Do you have the parent's permission to pull him out of school?"

"Yes," he stated dully, not bothering to expand. "Really, ma'am, I must take him with me now. It is very important."

"What could the U.S. military want with a child?" She asked, but her question was never answered. Jesse's ears perked when they heard her words and his head shot up to look at the visitor. 

The man saw this and his eyes met with Jesse's. "Jesse O'Neill?" Jesse merely nodded, a sickening sense of dajvue taking over him. "Come with me." Jesse obediently stood and began walking toward the door, books in hand. 

"Did you finish?" She asked, beginning to see what this was meaning to Jesse. He just shook his head no. "You can take it later then."

Before Jesse began moving toward the door again when he heard someone snicker, "What has he done now?" Turning his neck to the sound, he saw Alyssa hitting Shayn in the arm and knew it was he who had said that. 

His eyes locked with Alyssa's for a moment and he saw the sad, supportive smile she gave him: she was the only one who knew about his parents being military. The only one who could possibly know that this type of visit wasn't good when they came for him. 

"Come on," the man beckoned him, his voice not as rude or rushed. Jesse turned and walked back toward the officer then walked out of the room, knowing how many rumors would soon spread about this. 

Unlike the last time he had been taken from his school, Jesse didn't bother asking questions, he knew he wouldn't get much from the nameless man. He stopped only at his locker to put his books away but didn't bother removing his backpack or getting any homework he knew would be due the next day. 

Walking to the car, which was packed precisely where last had been, he got in and waited patiently with the man. The ride was long and boring, no words were exchanged between the two. The man just drove, starring at the road as if he would die if he didn't. But Jesse was so preoccupied with what was going on to realize that they weren't on the road to the SGC. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

Without pause, SG-1 scrambled out of their car and raced up the stairs to the doors. Running inside with their SG-1 patches and in their fatigues did not go unnoticed. When Jack ran into the main office, he got more than the one noticeable stare from the secretary he talked to. 

"Do you know where a Jesse O'Neill is?"

After pushing, what seemed like, a few random buttons on her keyboard, she answered, "He was just signed out."

"By who?"

"A Major David Thomson. Is there some reason you need him?" She asked, taking a second look at his clothing. 

"Yes, he's my son and was not supposed to be removed from school!" Jack shouted before giving up on the useless secretary and walked back to his team. "They already got him."

"Did they know who?"

"Major David Thomson," was all Jack said. His feet were already heading back for the car. 

"Now what?"

"We run every check for who this Major Thomson is. We find out where he is and get Jesse back. But we don't… we don't give them the virus." Jack's mind was set. No matter how much he didn't like the Tok'ra, he wouldn't see them get hurt by the stupidity of the NID. And, no matter how much he loved his son, he wouldn't risk it. Not even to get him back.

**Unknown**

When the black sedan parked in front of an unknown building thirty minutes later, Jesse didn't know how to react. He knew that he wasn't at the SGC and was beginning to get the impression that these people weren't part of the SGC. 

"Get out," the 'Air Force' officer barked at him. "Now!" 

Jesse, unsure as to how to escape or take in where he was, did as told. Unbuckling himself, he opened the door and stepped out. The sunlight bothered his eyes for an instant before they adjusted and saw the three men exit the beat up and old hospital building. 

Two of the three were dressed in complete black while the third wore an outfit similar to a doctor's lab coat. For only a moment, he was confused. But, just before the men grabbed him, he understood: they wanted the virus. 

Trying to pull himself from their grasp, Jesse fought hard to escape the men. He was hurting enough for the accidental deaths of so many; he wouldn't let them harm more. Stepping on feet, pulling on their arms, he tried everything he could think of to aggravate them into letting go. But nothing worked. 

"Now, now, Jesse. That's not a way to treat these nice gentlemen," the doctor cooed, his voice soothing and hypnotic but Jesse still fought against them. "If you keep that up, I'm afraid I will have to sedate you." Jesse acted as if he hadn't heard a word they had said and continued his fight. 

"Tis, tis, I would have thought better of the Colonel's and Major's son," he scolded. 

"What do you want?" Jesse asked, deciding to play dumb. 

"The virus, of course."

"What virus? I'm not sick." Playing dumb seemed to only annoy them further. 

"Now, Jesse, fighting and lying, those are not traits I would have thought you capable of. Really," he scolded again. 

"Really, I don't know what you're talking about." Jesse's voice was becoming more strained from fighting harder against the suited men all the while his acting skills were making him seem more and more fearful of his kidnapping. 

"Please, Jesse, you're not making this any easier on yourself. Just come peacefully and this won't take long at all. We just want a blood sample, then you're on your way." Jesse heard the words and digested them without fault. He smiled internally; it was too perfect. But he wouldn't let these people know that. 

Continuing with his fight, they walked him into the abandoned hospital.

**SGC, Sam's Lab**

"Any progress, Major?" When in his serious mode, Jack would, usually, still play around with Carter's title. But, after the resent events in their relationship he couldn't understand, he didn't add his normal twist to the word. 

"No, sir," she answered, the computer screen reflecting onto her face. 

"Keep trying," Jack told her as he turned to leave her lab. 

"What if we never find him?" Jack stopped in mid-stride and turned back to find Sam standing, her eyes glowing with apprehension. 

"We'll find him," Jack said, firmly. 

"And what if they kill him? What then?"

"They won't." Jack voice was neutral but not quiet monotone. 

"How can you be so sure?"

"I know. He's too important to them. They wouldn't risk it," Jack stated, trying to assure her. 

By then, tears were forming in her eyes. All Jack knew to do was to hold her. To comfort her. Pulling her to him with strong arms, he held her close to his chest and allowed her racking sobs to dispel. 

He didn't know how long he held her, whispering kind words and kissing her soft, blonde hair. But he knew that she didn't push him away nor did he let go even when she had no more tears to shed. His hands lazily drew circles on her back as his cheek was laying on her head while Sam's forehead rested on his chest and her hands lay flat against his chest and shoulders. 

True, it was a compromising position to be found in, but neither cared. Like the other day at Jack's house, it was as if nothing else existed- mattered. They both knew that something between them- what had been there for so long- was changing, morphing, into something else; something closer. 

Finally, Sam pushed Jack away, but not completely, just enough to see his face. Looking into her eyes, Jack could see the ragging emotions she felt. He also knew that she could see the varying emotions he was feeling at that moment. Even the debate going on in his head about whether or not he should kiss her. 

As if reading that thought, Sam answered it for him by leaning in closer. Their lips met in their second kiss; a more passionate kiss than either had ever experienced. Letting out their frustrations, grief, joy, desire, and everything they felt in a kiss that lasted less than a minute. 

**Unknown**

Jesse was beginning to tire of his incessant struggling- both against the men and the restraints holding him down to the surgical table. Only, now, he was stuck to a bed with a gag on. But he made the most of his no security by working on his bonds. 

Looking around and keeping himself busy- and what he had seen in the hall- it seemed that it was merely an abandoned hospital with much of the equipment interacted. 

The same man, the one with a deep, mysterious voice, stepped through the door and into the room. In his hand he held some strange liquid in a vial and a shot in the other hand. Sticking the needle into the vial, in removed some of the liquid and brought it into the shot. 

After tapping it and allowing some of the liquid to drip down the needle, he turned and looked at Jesse. Jesse struggling had stopped as he watched, almost hypnotized. 

"It won't hurt, I promise. You see, I bet you thought nothing would go wrong. We just want a blood sample and I know you know that the virus isn't active in your system at the moment. But, with a simple shot of this, that won't matter."

Hearing his words, Jesse's struggle continued again. Moving everything as much as he could, including his arms. His body thrashed up and down on the table, trying to force his way out of the restraints. 

"Now, now. There's nothing to get upset about." Without care of Jesse's movements, he inserted the needle and injected the liquid into Jesse's system, tearing the tender skin in the process. Jesse winced, the pain of the deep cut making his nerves start on fire. "You see, if it weren't for your moving, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe that will teach you."

Jesse felt the liquid circulating through his system, starting the horrible illness the virus caused as it worked to destroy the substance. His focus so intent on that, he hardly noticed the doctor leaving him there to suffer once again. 

**Unknown**

"Everything's on time. Within the next few hours, we should be able to extract the virus," a man, dressed in a black suit, spoke into his cell phone. His voice was low and almost monotone as he stood in a dark room looking out at a surgical room. 

"Good. See to it that everything stays that way," the voice on the other end ordered, equally as deep and emotionless. 

"Absolutely."

"Anything else?"

"Just one thing. What should we do with the kid when we're finished?" He asked, his eyes watching the topic of discussion as he screamed in pain, or, perhaps, fear. 

"Dump him next to a hospital. Send something to the SGC telling them where to find him. But don't make it too obvious."

"Right," he answered the minute the other line went dead. With an annoyed look, he slapped the machine closed and shoved it into his pocket. "Whatever you say, sir."

**Unknown (Three Hours Later)**

Jesse's body was on fire, burning on the inside and out. Sweat poured down his back, chest, and face. His hair was again drenched in his own perspiration. The restraints holding his wrists down caused even more sweat to collect there, making the cuts and impressions sting worse. 

The fire and fight in Jesse's eyes had died some time ago when the splitting headaches had begun and it had hurt too much to try fighting. To even leave his eyes open was a hassle enough; the light hurt and he barely had enough energy to hold the muscles opened. 

For some reason, he had lost hope in being rescued. In surviving this episode. The last time- both of them- he had had his parents watching over him. This time, though, no one cared for him. He was an experiment, nothing more and nothing less to the people that had taken him and left him there. 

Breathing was becoming harder. His chest felt like it weighed thousands of pounds. Every breathe, every movement was a hard struggle. He willed himself to keep breathing but his breaths were shallow and left his lungs oxygen hungry. 

Blackness began to fall over his reeling minds. He could no longer think. His mind just slipped away and back into the unconscious bliss of sleep. 

**Unknown (Five Hours Later)**

Like the "bad guy" in some action adventure movie, two men loomed in the shadows of a hidden room, looking out a large widow. Watching their prey squirm in pain while he was obvious to the world around him. 

A door behind the mysterious men creaked in the silence. Looking behind themselves, they watched a young man, of the same age as their prey, walked in. He held himself with a self-confidence fast approaching arrogance. 

"You're late," the farthest man, also the oldest, said, turning away from the teenager. 

The coldness of his voice sent shivers down the tall, broad body of the teenager. Though his body and attitude made it appear that he was invisible, the reality was that the old man terrified him. 

"I'm sorry," apologized, moving cautiously toward the window. "So what is it you want me to see?"

"The future and the end of our war with the Gou'ald," the younger man replied, his voice filled with smugness and egotism. 

The muscular teenager stepped closer and looked out at the other boy strapped down to a medical bed, delusional and unknowingly fighting the doctor as he attempted to draw blood. Looking his features over, it was obvious the blonde hair and broad physique belonged to someone he had yet to make a decision about: Jesse O'Neill.

**SGC, Briefing Room**

It was as though the kiss never happened, either of them. Sam and Jack, though back on speaking terms and acting like normal around each other, had silently decided that, for then, they wouldn't talk about it. At least not until they found Jesse and things had clamed down.

Sitting still in their chairs, they acted perfectly as if nothing had happened. Even as the General walked through his office doors. 

"This just arrived," Hammond said, beginning his meeting with SG-1, as he dropped a piece of paper on the ground. 

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"A note from an unknown party."

Sam picked up the piece of note paper and ready the sloppy words out loud, "'A place of healing you must go, to find your son you will know. The name he has, we don't know.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, not understanding the riddle. 

"I don't know, sir," Sam asked, not looking him directly in the eye like she normally would have bit still looking at him. 

After a few moments of thought, Daniel piped up and said, "Maybe they put him in a hospital. It is a 'healing place'. Under a different name, perhaps."

"It could be," Hammond agreed. 

"I can run a search of all the patients who checked in this area of Colorado within the past twenty-four hours," Sam purposed. 

"Do it," Hammond ordered. Sam stood with a nod and walked away, ready to search the databases. 

**Unknown**

"With this," the younger man started, "We could eliminate every Gou'ald in existence and all of their Jaffa. And can you believe the _SGC_ in too afraid to use it. To let us use it."

The old man gave a small grin at the delighted other one. "Calm yourself, Dean. We have all the time in the world. Besides, the only reason the SGC hasn't use this thing, is they're afraid of contaminating the Tok'ra and Jaffa Rebellion."

Removing the hand from Dean's shoulder, the older man stepped away and picked up a vial of blood. "But we're not. If one or two of them must die… well, they were willing to the entire time. It's not important to us."

Dean's smile grew. That was why he joined the NID, not the SGC. They were willing to get things done no matter the cost. 

Off in the corner, a young teenager listened in. He didn't join the NID for that. Actually, he didn't join the NID; they forced him in when his father decided that he was old enough to learn. He may have known who the Gou'ald were and was told they were a threat to be eliminated, but he didn't know who the Tok'ra and Rebel Jaffa. From his perspective, the Rebel Jaffa would be good to keep alive, why they should be sacrificed was not something he would advice. 

Hearing most of their conversation was over, he slipped away and out the door. He hated working with these people most of the time but his father said he had to. So he did. Perhaps he would have to speak with Jesse; talk to him about what he had heard and get some information. 

**Colorado Springs General Hospital**

"We found him outside the door. He was delusional and kept babbling on about being kidnapped and having something inside of him. All we found in his blood test was a virus. Nothing else," Dr. Warren explained to Jack, Janet, and Sam as he led them through the halls to his patient's room. "I'd like to keep him here for further observation."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Janet started, their coverstory about to go into play. 

"And why is that?" The doctor asked, clearly becoming agitated. 

"I can't say much but… we believe he may have been exposed to an experimental chemical the Air Force has been working on. It would account for the high fever, delusions and increased paranoia," Janet informed him. 

"Experimental chemical for the Air Force? What? Are you guys working with biological warfare now?"

"No. It's not like that. It's for… something classified, but there's no darner of spreading this to the general public, I promise," Jack assured him. "We can let him out of isolation, it's safe."

"I don't think you know how easily a virus like this can spread, Colonel. And, considering the symptoms, I doubt anyone'll want to catch it," Dr. Warren told him, his voice the perfect example of an arrogant doctor thinking he knows more than anyone else. 

Janet, who had moved closer to the window on the wall protecting others from Jesse, looked behind herself and addressed the doctor. "Dr. Warren, trust me, he isn't capable of transmitting the virus to anyone. It's been tested… on accident. We need to take him with us to help him to recover."

"I don't know," he said, hesitantly. 

"Please, we know how to treat this. Quiet frankly, you don't," Sam told him, her eyes finally pulling themselves away from Jesse's pale, still body. 

"I'm sorry, Major, but this is a hospital. I don't see how the Air Force could do any better than we can," he stated. 

"We can. We've seen it before and have worked with it. We know how to treat it, how to help those who've contracted the virus. You've never seen it before nor have you worked with it," Janet retorted. 

With a shake of the head, "I'll have to get it cleared."

"Thank-you," Janet replied. 

Sam nodded at Jack and the two entered the quarantined room, heading straight for Jesse. For a moment, Janet watched them, knowing how much they had become attached to the boy and how much they must have been hurting when they couldn't find him. 

"Uh, Doctor. I'll need to take all of his labs and chart. Everything. As far as anyone knows, he wasn't here. Never was. Got it?" Janet told him, her eyes completely sincere and commanding on the outside while, on the inside, she wished it wasn't necessary. 

Dr. Warren nodded with a sigh. It was evident to the Air Force doctor that he was hesitant to do as they asked but, she knew from his half-defeated posture, that he would back down and do as they asked. 

"I'll go get them and have him released," he replied before Janet nodded and joined her friends with Jesse. 

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Hmm, I really don't have a clue what to say. I, unfortunately, didn't have time to spell-check this one as well as I'd have liked but I will try to do so for the next chapters. So, I do apologize for any problem with the grammar/spelling. But, as always, please R/R and tell me what you thought. 


	15. Unusual Alliances

Author's Note: Wow! 99 reviews in fourteen chapters! If you can R/R another fifty-one times, that'd be nice of you. But, please read this one, enjoy it, and review. 

Summary: To stop the NID from using the alien virus, who will team up to stop them? 

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Chapter Fifteen:

Unusual Alliances 

"Take a look at this," Janet told them, pulling up Jesse's sleeve and displaying it to the others around her. SG-1 and General Hammond were discussing Jesse condition with her as she reported any medical findings she could. 

"Ouch," Jack remarked, seeing the deep, small puncture wound on his upper arm. 

"It seems that whoever kidnapped him was trying to inject him. Jesse must have been fighting against him that's why it ripped the skin," Janet explained. 

"Did they succeed?" Hammond asked, standing at the foot of the bed. 

"In both the hospitals and our blood work, there's nothing but the virus. But it could have been something that triggered the virus to become active. Some kind of liquid naquida or… something. I'm not sure."

"Why?" Jack asked quietly. 

"Why what, sir?" 

Jack looked at Sam; momentary shock written on his face as if he hadn't realized he had spoken. "Why did they inject him with something?"

"I did find a few scars, all from having his blood taken." Gesturing to his left arm, she pointed out three marks, "These were resent. This one I made. One of these might have been who ever had him. Then again, they both could have been made from the hospital staff. I don't know. We may never know if they wanted anything more than seeing what happened."

"We don't even know who did it. Whoever signed him out of school could have used a false name," Daniel stated. 

"I don't think so. The NID seemed pretty insistent on having the virus. I think they would have done something like this. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that they did it," Jack stated.

"Well, when he wakes up, I'm sure he'll be able to fill us in. Keep me informed, Doctor," Hammond ordered before heading out of the Infirmary. 

Daniel gave a short nod before leaving as well, shortly followed by Teal'c. Janet gave an empathetic smile and a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder before walking off, leaving Sam and Jack standing there. 

"So?"

"So?" 

"I guess we have a lot to talk about?" Jack said. They still weren't looking at each other; instead their focus was on Jesse. 

"Yea, I guess so." For a moment, they were silent before, "Sir-"

"Carter-" They said simultaneously, interrupting each other. "You go first."

Sam could feel Jack's eyes burn into the side of her face as he looked at her, waiting for something. "Sir, forgetting about… what happened isn't a good idea. Neither is ignoring each other or pretending that we didn't-"

"Kiss," Jack finished for her. 

"Yea."

"But we did," Jack started, bringing his hand to her face and forcing her to look at him. "And I enjoyed… every minute of it."

The honesty and caring in his eyes made Sam force back tears. No matter how much she knew she loved him, her fear- fear of rejection and court martial- held her back. She wanted to be able to let go, but they both knew that wasn't possible. 

"So did I. But… we can't… we can't continue a relationship like that," Sam told him, tearing her eyes from his and looking back down at Jesse's bed. 

"Not now. But maybe… hopefully, later. When this is over and we can have a life again." Sam gave a weak smile at his choice of words. "Even if you think you never had one, I know you must have had more of one before you joined this place." The sarcasm that now filled his voice caused her smile to grow. 

"Maybe… later," she agreed. Another silence befell them as the couple watched their son sleep. 

**An Hour Later**

__

"Daddy?" A child of five or six cried, his voice muffled and strained. 

"I'm right here, kiddo. You're all right," the older man assured his son. "It's ok."

"What happened?" The child asked, his eyes forcing themselves to stay opened and alert. 

For a moment, his father didn't answer. Rather, he just starred at his son with sad eyes. "You… fell and cut your neck. Then… you got really sick from it. But you're all right now. Everything's just fine."

"I had a scary dream," his exhausted voice shared. "I was in the Mountain. And… something was happening. I heard gun shots."

"It's ok," the man interrupted him. "It was just a nightmare. You're all right. You're here with me. No more guns."

The child, not knowing better, nodded and kept trying to stay awake. To continue to hear his father's voice and feel his large hand covering his smaller one. But, slowly, his sleepy eyes won out and he was again unconscious. 

The boy's father sighed. He hated to lie to his son, but it was necessary. He shouldn't have to know what had happened to him. And now, he would never have to find out or experience it ever again. Perhaps when he was older, when everything was done and over with. 

Standing, he walked over to the white sheet blocking the rest of the room from sight. Sliding one of the sheets away, he saw the reality of what was happening in the room. Soldiers were scattered about, many injured badly while others weren't too bad off. 

His eyes looked over the room, but didn't find who he was looking for. Rather than leaving the child, he closed the barrier and sat back at his child's side, providing a constant companion. 

Jesse slowly became aware of his surroundings. A monitor near by beeped insync with the steady beat of his heart. The feel of a small tube sent a strange feeling up his left hand and arm. Thin, itchy cotton sheets rubbed against his leg as he reposition it, trying to get blood to flow back through it. The sound of his raspy breathing echoed in his ears through all the silence. Few voices could be heard but were there nonetheless. 

Blinking his eyes opened, the dim lighting soothed his fear of still being in the deserted hospital. Looking about himself, he found that his suspicions were correct; he was in the SGC's Infirmary. The voices, finally becoming clearer and truly registering in his mind, he figured out that they belonged to his mother, father, Dr. Fraser, and the fourth one was familiar but just beyond his memory's reach. 

Through his nausea and major headache, Jesse looked over at where the voices were coming from. At first he couldn't see through the blurry haze his watery eyes were causing. But, as the figures grew closer, it became easier and easier to see them. After a moment, he could make out his mother and Janet speaking with each other while his father stood next to an older, plumper man. 

The throbbing behind his eyes grew, making Jesse close them, wishing the discomfort would subside. Though it did lessen some, the effort was mostly in vain. Though the simple action did catch the petite doctor's attention for she was immediately at his side. Right behind her was, of course, the other three. 

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" Janet asked, running her hand through his greasy, snarled hair. 

"A little groggy… but… not bad," he told her through a closed throat and eyes.

Janet gave him a sympathetic smile, even though he couldn't see it. Resting her hand on his shoulder, she looked over at Jack and Sam. With Jack's nod of approval, the doctor turned back to the pained child. His eyes were newly opened and fresh tears had begun to form. 

"Jesse, can you tell us what happened?" She asked gently, her voice kind and not urgent or pressuring. 

With a nod, he began, "They took me out of school. Then… I was… brought to a… hospital. No one… no one there but them," he recalled, his talking becoming slower. "Something… needle." As his sentences became more and more incomplete and muttered, it became quite more apparent to everyone that he was close to falling back into unconsciousness. 

"It's ok, Jesse. Go back to sleep," she cooed to him, lulling him back into slumber. 

"They did inject him," Janet confirmed after she led them away from the boy's bed. 

"But nothing showed up in the test," Sam retorted. 

"He was already in the later stages. Whatever it was has probably been destroyed by the time anyone did any tests," Janet proposed, getting a silent form of agreement from Sam when she turned to look back at Jesse's sleeping form rather than retorting.

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

After a second time in a week of having his virus 'activated', Jesse was exhausted and tired of being sick. But he wanted to return to school. It was Wednesday, he had a test he supposedly knew nothing about and he wanted to see Alyssa again- somehow she made everything seem better for just little awhile. 

With the wind whipping at his cheeks and his hands buried in his pockets, Jesse started walking towards the stairs. But the sound of Shayn's voice stopped Jesse. He turned to see the Basketball Captain walk right toward him saying:

"Can we talk?"

It was hard to hear what he had said over the wind, but Jesse made it out. Nodding, he stepped forward a bit in order to hear better. 

"Where were you the past two days?" Shayn asked, his voice sincere and the look in his eyes saying he didn't care to know. 

"Why do you care?"

"Where were you?" He persisted.

Jesse sighed and said, "I was sick. They pulled me out of school because my parents hadn't returned from some mission of theirs. I guess I got sick worrying over them."

Shayn nodded, getting the information he needed. Moving until his lips were right next to Jesse's ears, he asked, "Do you know what a Tok'ra is?"

Though the name from his enemy's lips startled Jesse, he hid it well. "A what?"

With a frustrated sigh, Shayn tried again, "What the hell's in your blood? I know they took some and then started talking about how they would kill the Gou'ald, the Tok'ra, and the Jaffa Rebellion."

Jesse starred, dumbfounded, at Shayn. He may have only known about these things for two weeks, but he had been sworn to secrecy and he knew everyone else was as well. So: 

"How do you know that?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain my life like I know you don't as well. Just tell me, what's in your blood?" Shayn demanded. 

But Jesse looked away, his mind fast trying to solve the problem at hand. "No wonder they did it. They wanted the virus."

"What virus? What are you talking about?"

"Look," Jesse said, turning back to Shayn, "I don't have time to explain. Just tell me where it is."

"Why?"

"I have to tell my parents. They can get rid of it."

"No! What is it first."

Jesse sighed and told him, "I was… accidentally exposed to a virus years ago. It spreads to anyone with a Gou'ald symbiote then kills it. Jaffa die from losing their immune system. Most Gou'ald die because their hosts are too old. I don't know about a Tok'ra."

"So this thing… would kill them?"

"Yes. It spreads rapidly from host to host. They'd all be dead easily."

"Then, they can't let it loose?"

"No. Tell me where they have the virus. If I tell my parents and the organization they work with, they can eliminate it. Trust me." For a minute, Shayn didn't know how to react. He wanted to tell but he wasn't sure. 

Suddenly the bell rang, telling them they needed to get inside. "Meet me at the first floor bathroom at eight-thirty. All right? We'll talk then."

"Alright." This time, when a gust of wind his Jesse's cheeks, he felt nothing. His blood was running cold. He couldn't believe anyone would do this. He needed to tell his parents. And he would. After his talk with Shayn, he would find out where it was, and then he'd call his parents and tell them what was happening. But, for now, he needed to go to school. 

**Unknown**

"How are the tests going?" Dean was asked as he held a small cell phone to his ear. 

"Well, sir. I think it's safe to say that they'll be completed soon, as long as there are no interferences," he answered with overconfidence. 

"Good, good. Keep me informed," the man told him, hanging up his phone without any words of departure. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

Jesse looked up at the wall clock, expectantly. Eight-thirty was fast approaching. The half an hour had passed before he knew it and was finding that sitting through the already boring English class was near impossible. 

Looking back at the clock, he sighed and decided it was good enough. Raising his hand, his teacher, Mr. Zimmerman, walked over to him. 

"Yes?"

"May I go to the bathroom, please?" Jesse asked, his voice as polite and sweet as he could make it through all his nervousness. 

"Yes. Take the pass," Mr. Zimmerman's low voice replied. 

"Thank-you." Standing, he walked past the other desks, grabbed the pass off of the chalkboard and walked out of the room without another word. 

Briskly, he walked down the hallway, careful to keep his uncertain legs from running. Approaching the stairs, he walked down a flight to find himself on the first floor. Once there, he moved quickly and quietly down the silent halls until he made it to the bathroom. Stepping inside, he found Shayn, alone, in there. 

"You never answered my question," he stated, leaning against the stall. 

"Which one?"

"What's a Tok'ra?"

Jesse hesitated a minute. He knew that Shayn had been told a lot but he wasn't about to tell him everything if he wasn't supposed to. "Tell me how do you know about the Gou'ald and everything, first."

Shayn, looking annoyed but in agreement, nodded and said, "That's fair. My father works for the NID. He wants me to work there one day. He would take me into his work every once in a while. It was only when I overheard a couple conversations I shouldn't have that he told me some things. Now you tell me."

"Alright. A Tok'ra is sort of like a Gou'ald. But they only take willing hosts and don't take them over completely. Like sharing the body. The Tok'ra fight against the Gou'ald. They're our ally."

"Then why would the NID want to kill them?"

"They want to kill them with the virus?" The horror in his voice registered in Shayn's ears and he knew this virus thing was more personal than Jesse was letting on. 

"That's what they said. I mean, they don't want to kill them. Just if it were necessary or happened on accident, then they didn't seem to mind. Same thing with the Rebel Jaffa," he explained. 

Jesse nodded and said, "Where are they working with this thing? I remember being in a hospital. Is that where it is?"

"Yeah. An abandoned one off of East St." Shayn told him. 

"What do you plan on doing to it?" Jesse asked. 

"I don't know. I mean, would it be that bad if they did release it?" Shayn asked, suddenly acting unsure of himself. 

"Yes. The virus, which had infected only one person, spread killing almost an entire colony of Jaffa. If this were let into a less isolated place, it could kill everyone: the Gou'ald, the Tok'ra, and all of the Jaffa. I personally know a Jaffa and Tok'ra I wouldn't want to see harmed."

Shayn nodded and said, "I'll think about it. Meet me here at two."

"Fine." Jesse watched Shayn straighten out and walk past him. Once he heard the door open and close, he turned and walked out. Heading straight for the pay phone, he dialed the number he had been told to use incase of an emergency. 

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, please."

**SGC**

Jack took the phone from the technician without a second thought. "Colonel O'Neill."

"Jack? I found something out I think you need to hear," came the hushed voice of his son. 

"Jesse? What… where are you?" Jack hissed. 

Holding the cold plastic to his ear, Jesse turned and leaned against the payphone and wall, keeping a close lookout for any unwanted teachers. "I'm in school… at the payphone. Jack-"

"No 'Jack'. What are you doing? You should be in class-"

"Jack! Look, I don't have much time to talk but… the NID took a blood sample with the virus. They want to use the virus to kill the Gou'ald, not bothering to try and contain it when and if it reached the Tok'ra and Rebel Jaffa."

The warning made Jack freeze. Shifting into soldier mode, he asked, "Where is it?"

"In an abandoned hospital just off of East Street. I gotta go. Bye." The dial tone reached Jack's ear and he knew the phone had been hung-up on the other line. Looking at the object in his hand for a moment, he thought over what Jesse had told him. 

"Jack? What is it?" Daniel's voice echoed in Jack's mind, snapping him from his thoughts. 

"Hmm?" In a slight daze, he hung up the phone. "Oh, right. Get Sam and T. Looks like we're going for a ride." Slipping back into his normal, chippy self, Jack strolled off, leaving Daniel standing there. 

**SGC Car**

The vacant road flew by the silent car. The normal cites- such as trees, houses, telephone poles, and cold, hard black pavement- was past by without much consideration as the five person group zoned in on their target. 

Jack gracefully turned the steering wheel, winding them through the series of bends on the road. The road itself was an old, unused path filled with cracks and potholes which kept SG-1 bouncing and shaking throughout the entire ride. 

A new cite caught the team's attention as they moved further down the old street. A three-story building stood towering over a parking lot that could easily match and beat the road they had been on. Pulling up close to the once automatic doors, it was easy to see that the paint had long ago started flaking off and many shingles had fallen off allowing water and such to seep through. Windows that had once provided a view of the large parking lot were now shattered and glass lay in messes all around. 

Stepping cautiously outside the car, the group wandered closer. From where they were, they could see that most everything had been removed. Other more permanent things seemed to have either stayed the same or knocked over by rodents and wind. 

Daniel walked up to the sliding doors, them being the only way in. But the doors didn't open, letting the archeologist to almost walk into the door. 

"Daniel," Jack scolded, his voice quiet. Pushing Daniel to the side, he tried to pry open the doors by hand. After a few futile attempts, he moved to the side and gestured to the door- silently telling Teal'c to give it a shot. 

With ease, Teal'c managed to open the broken door. Afterward, Sam and Janet slipped through. Jack and Daniel entered next, closely followed by Teal's. With zats and guns in hand, they separated, grouping themselves as they searched the presumably empty building. 

**Unknown**

"How did they find us?" Hissed an older man to a younger one while they stood, starring at many small TVs. 

"I don't know."

"Go seal off the doors to the lab. Hurry, before one of them finds it!"

The younger man obediently spun around and headed for the mysterious lab. All the while, the older man's eyes never left the TV screens, watching the five unwanted figures move about the building- his building. 

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Only three more chapters to go! Wait, that's not a happy thing, but that means you get the end so, maybe, it's a good thing, I don't know. For me it means I have to start another story and start all over again. Not a good. But, please R/R this story. (I only need 1 more to get 100! That's very exciting)


	16. Broken Mirror

Author's Note: Sorry this one's a little late. I was having a problem feeling like getting on the computer the other day. Sorry. But here you go. Again, this chapter might not be the best proof reading job ever but I don't think there's too much in the way of spelling/grammar mistakes. 

  
Again, thank you so much for all the reviews and for everyone who's reading this story. 

Summary: As the virus' "safties" are created, will Shayn help Jesse destroy the virus or will he stick with his father and the NID?

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Chapter Sixteen:

Broken Mirror

It was two o'clock, the exact time Shayn had instructed Jesse to meet him in the bathroom. Jesse was there, waiting for Shayn. He assumed that he was just having a hard time getting out of class. 

Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes as he waited for his 'partner in crime'. When the door began to open, Jesse's ears instantly perked and his head shot up from its resting-place. Straightening out, he pretended that he was going to wash his hands. 

But, when he saw who it was, he stop mid-stride toward the sink and asked, "What took you so long?"

But Jesse was ignored. Shayn merely brushed off his question by asking his own. "What were you thinking? Sending in an SG team?"

"What? I just told my dad where the virus was. What they did with that information is not my problem. How did you know that, anyway?" Jesse asked, backing up as Shayn approached him, his expression not an all too friendly one. 

"I told you not to call you parents."

Jesse stopped his retreat; halting Shayn's progress as well. "No, you never said I couldn't."

"I never said you could," Shayn countered. 

"Get over it. I already did it." For several seconds, neither said anything. Then Jesse broke their annoyed silence with, "Did they get it?"

"What?" He asked in an angry stupor. 

"The virus? Did they get the virus?" Jesse rephrased. 

"No," he answered, absent-mindedly. 

"Then that's your job," Jesse informed him in a matter-o-fact tone. 

"What?"

"Go there. Get it. Destroy it," Jesse spelled out, his demeanor making it seem as if Shayn were retarded. 

"I can't do that," he complained. 

"You can and you will. I don't care if you have to burn that damn hospital to the ground," Jesse almost yelled. His eyes burned into Shayn's, daring him to object. 

"Hey, Jesse! Mrs. Hall sent me to look for you. What's taking you so long?" Roger, a boy from Jesse's Study Hall, called into the lavatory. 

"Just do it," he hissed at Shayn before walking with Roger. Roger, of course, was oblivious, but Shayn… he understood, no matter how afraid he was to comply. 

**SGC, Briefing Room**

"I'm afraid we didn't find anything, sir," Jack reported to the General as he and his team, plus Janet, walked into the briefing room. The General just put his hand up to stop Jack's speaking as he strolled from his office. The act alone didn't explain why but the person behind him did. 

Jacob Carter/Selmak walked directly behind him. His face was completely neutral, an expression he often wore. "The Tok'ra have some important news," he announced in a more cheerful yet gloomy voice. 

Taking his traditional seat, everyone else followed suit. "We believe we have found a… 'vaccine' of sorts to the virus. Rather then what the doctor came up with that only works once a dose, this will, hopefully, work for a prolonged period of time. Long enough to eliminate the Gou'ald and virus," Jacob explained. 

"How does it work?" Janet asked, the ever-curious doctor. 

"It's all medical mumbo jumbo to me, but I'll give it a try. The virus, as far as we can tell, acts more like the immune system. It sees the symbiote as an intruder, therefore it tries to destroy it. But, with what we've created, we've counter-acted this. You see, the white blood cells, in a sense, label everything as 'good' or 'bad'. The 'vaccine' marks the symbiote as 'good', which, we think, will keep the virus away."

"I see. It's a brilliant idea, but does it work?" Janet asked. 

"It has been tested positively but never field tested over extended periods," Jacob answered. 

"Who's gotten it?" Sam asked, beating Janet to the question. 

"All Tok'ra on base. Only an hour or so ago we sent two doctors to the Alpha Cite to inject the Jaffa. As many Tok'ra that can get out of their missions are being recalled. Those who can't be are having the injection secretly. The same goes for the Jaffa," Jacob explained. 

Then Jack asked the question everybody wanted to know but didn't dare asked. "When are you planning on releasing the virus?"

Silence was all that met Jack's question. Jacob didn't know how to answer it. The statistics said a month or so. But how easy was it to say that in about a month you would have to perform a mission that would be the equivalent of dropping hundreds of naquadah enhanced nuclear bombs?

"As soon as everyone that needs a shot gets one." Then, after a pause, he elaborated. "Less than a month."

"That soon, huh?" Jack remarked sarcastically- his way of lightening any mood. 

**East Street Hospital**

Shayn's heart pounded in his ears. He had never once defied what his father and the NID did. What he had done, telling Jesse, was a large violation already. Now he had to do something much bigger, something he never would have had the courage to even think of: steal from them. 

Slowly but almost surly, he walked down the old abandoned halls. Each time a tile creaked or the walls settled, he flinched inwardly, sometimes outwardly. His breathing was unnaturally quick, no matter his efforts to slow it. 

Once his shaky legs made their way to the lab door, he froze. The phrase 'second thought' didn't even begin to describe how he felt at that point. He never wanted to do it in the first place; he didn't even know why he had even talked to Jesse. Now he had to go through with a plan he desperately didn't want to do. 

Shifting his backpack, he held it by one of his sweaty hands. With his arm shaking as if it were a hundred below, his trembling fingers grabbed a hold of the cold metal and turned the knob. Hearing it unlocked and open, he pushed discreetly forward inside. Not a soul was in there. The place, usually having one or two people in it, held no one. 

Releasing the breath he didn't know he had been holding, Shayn took a tentative step inside. He knew there were no alarms or booby traps plus he had made-up a cover-story just incase someone were to show up. 

As quickly as he could, Shayn walked over to the lab table on which many test tubes had been placed. Raising them up, one by one, he looked at each label. After going through the fifteen tubes, he had found nothing. Looking around, he saw only a freezer. 

Scurrying across the way, he set down is backpack and pulled open the door before being instantly frozen. Looking the selves over, he found a pair of test tubes. He first tried taking them out with his bear hands but quickly found that it was too cold. Glancing at the table behind him, he found a pair of thick gloves. In a flash, he grabbed them and shoved them onto his hands. 

Reaching inside, he picked up the two tubes and closed the freezer door. Shivering from the rush of cold air, he set the tubes onto the table. Using his gloves to scrap off the frost, he read the label marked O'Neill, Jesse; Blood Type: O- but the other had too much frost sticking to it. 

The sudden echoing of footfalls caught Shayn by surprise. Picking up his backpack just as his breathing and heart seemed to increase, his trembling hands unzipped the pouch, having more trouble with the gloves on. Grabbing a Styrofoam container from inside, he opened it and hurriedly yet carefully put the tubes into the container. 

Tossing it into his backpack, he heard the clicking of the locks and knew he had only a few seconds before whoever it was entered. Pulling off his gloves, he zipped up his pouch and slung it over his shoulder just as the door flew opened. 

"What are you doing in here?" The man, dressed in a labcoat, asked him. 

"Ah, I was just looking for my dad. I thought I saw him come in here," Shayn lied, giving the man a shrug. Though his insides were rattling so badly he swore he could hear them, his outside was a display of calm. 

"Well, he's not. Get out of here. Now!" The man ordered. Shayn just nodded, afraid his voice would betray him if he spoke again. Slipping past the man, Shayn stepped out the door, test tubes and all. With no need to think about it, he walked briskly down the hall and headed for the exit. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

"Take it," was all Shayn said while shoving a Styrofoam container into Jesse's hands. School had traveled by slowly as Jesse anxiously awaited for the news, but all he got was a unknown container. 

"What is it?" Grabbing his shoulder, Jesse managed to stop Shayn before he left. 

"Your blood sample… and something else that was right by it. Now let go of me!"

Ignoring his protest, Jesse continued, "You did think to look at what you had gotten, right?"

"They were the only two test tubes in the freezer. All the other tubes were outside and their labels had nothing to do with you," he insisted, fighting against Jesse's tight hold on his shirt. 

With an annoyed sigh, Jesse let go of his enemy yet ally. Opening the small container, he saw that, sure enough, there were two tubes in it. One was labeled O'Neill, Jesse; Blood Type: O- and the other was labeled as Gou'ald. 

"Thank-you," he called out to Shayn's retreating back. He didn't look up as he said it, assuming Shayn would have kept going. But Shayn surprised him; he stopped. 

Quietly and without turning to face Jesse, Shayn informed him, "Just forget about everything. Forget I know. Forget that we ever had these meetings... And forget that I ever helped you. As far as I'm concerned, that virus doesn't exist- never had, never will."

As he went to take the last few steps out of the bathroom, Jesse stopped him again by saying, "You really are your father's boy, aren't you? Or is that just the government NID agent in you?" After only a split second of anger, Shayn acted as if he had never heard Jesse's taunting and walked away. 

**SCG, Infirmary**

"Colonel!" Shouted a Sergeant as he jogged toward Jack. 

"Yes?" Colonel O'Neill questioned, stopping in front of the Infirmary door. 

"You said you wanted to be informed five hours before it's moved," he stated, his wording making it clear that he knew what the Sergeant was talking about. 

"Thank-you, Sergeant." With a nod, the Sergeant was on his way. 

Just as Jack turned to step into the base hospital, he heard the familiar sound of Jesse's voice inside. Quickening his pace, he arrived with Dr. Fraser and Sam just as Jesse was saying:

"…fers to stay anonymous."

"Who's anonymous? What are you doing here?" Jack asked, startling the clueless trio. 

"Jesse managed to get a hold of these… from the NID. And he won't tell us who helped him," Janet explained, holding out her hand, which contained two test tubes. 

"Jesse? Who helped you?" Jack asked, sounding like an adult trying to weasel information out of a five-year-old. 

His eyes gazing at the ground before he said, "I don't know."

"Jesse," Jack scolded, his voice harsher. 

"I'd give up, sir. We've tried everything short of bribery and threats, he won't budge," Sam told him, amazingly meeting his curious gaze. 

Agreeing with her intense blue eyes, Jack nodded and turned his attention back to Jesse. For a brief moment, his face was clouded with bewilderment as he inquired, "How did you get here, anyway?"

"Won't tell us that either. He'd make a great agent, one-day. He sure knows how to keep his mouth shut," Janet remarked. Jack glanced over at the amused doctor and knew it was not just the question or many similar answers, but something else only a third party would ever notice. 

"Right. Anyhow, Jesse, could you come with me? I want to show you something." The boy nodded as he hopped off the high bed. Walking past his father, he felt his strong hand being placed on the small of his back, as if to lead him, before hearing his father's deep voice say, "We'll be back in a few minutes." 

**SGC, Storage Room**

Jesse's eyes glowed with recollection as his mind snapped back to weeks before. He remembered the time he had discovered the truth of his parents' work, was told how his world was to be destroyed, forced to leave his family, home… reality. The day that, within a few hours, reshaped his life and past dramatically. 

Taking a few steps away from Jack's protective stance, he wandered closer to the pathetic looking device he had once laughed at but now held a great respect for. Reaching out a cautious hand, he ran it along the course yet smooth texture. 

His body still facing the machine, he twisted his neck to see Jack. His eyes watched from a distance, giving Jesse as much space as he wanted. With hands in his pockets, he shrugged and said, "I guess we never got around to bringing it back to Area 51."

Jesse gave a weak smile in return before looking back at the alien device. "I didn't even know you had it here."

"Yeah, well, neither did I. I only found out a day or two ago when they told me it was being shipped out today… in a few hours."

Jesse nodded, trying to take in every detail about the rock slab as he could for he was sure that he would never have the chance again. Before, through his awe, he had seen but not truly noticed and committed to memory anything about it. It was beautiful. The rock seemed more than a rock, like the Stargate. There was something about the purple tint to it and the strange mystery it represented. 

When his roaming eyes reached the center of the device, a small, blinking red light caught their attention. Only seconds later, the center was shimmering and activating itself. In shock, he jumped back a bit. Then, carefully, he moved back to where his father stood, equally as curious and alert. He put a hand on Jesse's shoulder and led him back a bit behind himself. 

Watching the image, he saw that the device, in that reality, was place in a bland, Army-like setting. At its angle, Jesse couldn't see the controller- only the grey cement backdrop. But, after a moment of breathless anticipation, two figures moved into view. They touched the mirror and appeared, back facing the pair, before they could be identified. 

The pair's clothing was little more than rags as it clung to their bodies. Obvious dried blood was scattered over their clothing, if it was theirs or others was unknown to Jesse and Jack as they appeared to have no injuries. The woman's golden hair was mangled- unbrushed and unwashed for days- as was the man's. Yet they stood tall and proud no matter how tired they seemed. 

Hidden deep within Jesse's mind, he had already decided that it was his parents. But he would only be convinced of that when they turned around and he could see their faces. Slowly, the couple turned and both Jesse and Jack found themselves face to face with the exact people they both longed and hoped it was yet wished and prayed that it wasn't. 

**SGC, Briefing Room**

The world seemed to be swirling around him. Everything was spinning out of control. His mind refused to process anything. He had accepted that his parents were dead; that his world was destroyed, taking everyone with it. But there were his real parents- sitting across the table from him, telling everyone what had happened. He heard the words, but not their meanings. 

"We had more time to evacuate than we thought. For some reason, the Ha'tack vessels were delayed, giving us an hour or so to gather as many as we could and send them through to the Gamma Cite," Dr. Carter-O'Neill said, speaking mostly to the General for it was easier to her mind. 

"We have our own Ha'tack and Death Glider-like ships. They were able to hold them off for a while, adding an extra… hour or two. But, in the end, they just started to destroy and attack Earth," the other Jack added. 

After a pause, he turned to the General and finished with, "You, or rather our you, ordered SG-1- my team- through the 'gate and to the Gamma Cite. Many civilians from Colorado Springs made it through with us. We've counted… 213,527 total living that made it through… the rest are presumed dead."

"Have you made it through to Earth?" Daniel asked, trying not to focus his mind on their shabby and filthy appearance or who they really were but weren't. 

"We've tried dialing tons of times but… either the 'gate has been buried or… destroyed," Samantha told him, her voice grave. 

Sensing that that was all the two wished to say to the General and company, Hammond told them, "I'll arrange for new clothes, a hot shower, and rooms for you."

"Thank-you, General," the other Jack responded. 

"Dismissed." With the General's words, Teal'c rose silently and followed Daniel out of the room. At the same time, Sam and Jack got out of their chairs, uncomfortable around their doubles and Jesse's real parents. 

When Jesse went to follow them- a habit he had learned- his mother called out, "Jesse. Could you wait here for a moment? We want to talk to you." Jesse looked questionably at his newfound parents, only returning to his real parents when they gave their approval. 

"I didn't think you came just to brief them," Jesse confirmed once he had moved closer to his parents and farther away from… his other parents. So few difference. Hair styles a little different, the scar missing from his real father's eyebrow, dark circles under the one pair's eyes while Jack and Sam had none. But, for the most part, they were identical. 

"You're right," his mother agreed. 

"I bet after a month here, you'd be used to it… them. As far as you knew, we were dead. It must be hard to see us here," Jack said in a gentle, therapeutic tone. A tone Jesse recalled well. 

Slowly his father backed himself into a chair and sat down. His mother did not move from her awkward stance- leaning against the table- while Jesse stayed a yard or two away from them- fidgeting and nervous while being equally as confused. 

"Jesse, we want you to come back with us," Jack informed him in a manner closer to being called blunt. 

Jesse just froze, uncertain if he had heard correctly. Were they asking him to come home? To leave the place they had sentenced him to? To leave the home he had had to make? To leave the new home he was used to and send him where there were Gou'ald and that he could spread this crazy virus to? To- Why was he questioning it? To go home? To return to those he had though had perished? Why question that?

But he didn't know his answer. Samantha, seeing his indecision, reassured him, "You don't have to make up you mind now. Think about it." She said calmly, though her voice was shaky and hurt with his obvious listlessness to return with them. Without a response, Jesse walked down the stairs in a confused stupor. 

**SGC, Base Hallway**

"Hey! Um… Colonel!" 

Out of pure habit, Jack turned at the sound of his rank. The fact that it was his own voice sounded weird, but caused him to look either way. Sure enough, it was his newly washed and dressed counterpart being escorted down the hall by an MP. Stopping in the middle of the hall, Jack waited awkwardly for the other Jack to reach him. 

"Colonel?" Jack asked, expecting a reason for being called. 

"Colonel," he replied, stopping in front of Jack. For a second, it was like meeting the robotic Jack all over again. The same face, voice, build, body, everything. 

He suddenly understood what it must have been like for Sam when her other double came with Kawalsky through the mirror. It must have been hard for her to talk and work with herself. When he had kissed- no, no, he couldn't think about that because then he'd think about the other two kisses he had had with the real Sam. No! He had to get those types of thoughts under control and out of his head. 

As if all his thought happened within more than the second they had, Jack almost forgot what had triggered them. Focusing back on the other Jack, he noticed that he was looking back at the guard. Jack nodded at him, telling the man to stay put as he began to walk Jesse's real father down the hall a bit. 

"So, what did you what to talk to me about? I was just on my way to see Jesse," Jack began, pointing down the hall in the direction he had been heading only minutes ago. 

"Yeah, about Jesse. Look, I really am grateful that you've taken care of him for the past few weeks. I really am. But what were you two thinking when you brought him back here?" The other Jack demanded, his voice raising. 

"Hey, you're the one who told him about the Stargate and then shipped him here," Jack retorted. 

"At least that was to keep him out of danger."

"By not telling him about the virus? Yeah, that helped."

Jack turned to leave. He wasn't going to argue with himself, he knew neither would win. But, it seemed, that Jesse's father wasn't going to have that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Jack spun around to meet his double from Jesse's reality face-to-face. "It means no one knew about it, because of your ingenious plan to protect Jesse."

The other Jack was quite annoyed by his comments, which was plainly shown on his face. "Do you have any idea what could have happened if that virus isn't controlled properly? It-"

"Killed over two hundred Rebel Jaffa. That's what it did. All because we had no idea that he had this very contagious virus," Jack interrupted. "It almost killed Selmak, luckily we found something to help."

For a moment, the other Jack had no idea how to take in what had been said to him. The name Selmak had no meaning to him, but his double said it as if it should. But, before he could analyze it, Jack was already walking away. 

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Hmm, Jack fighting Jack, that sounds interesting. Anyway, two more chapters to go! Please R/R and tell me how badly of a proof reading job I did. 


	17. Home Sweet Home

Author's Note: Once again, I much appreciate all of the reviews you guys have written. (Are you sure it's not just one person writing under a bunch of names? Just thought I'd ask.) I do expect to continue seeing them for this and the last chapter. Thanks! 

Summary: Jesse's internal struggle grows as he tries to decide which home he would rather live in. But which will he choose?

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Chapter Seventeen:

Home Sweet Home

Jesse had taken refuge in his old base quarters, hoping he could at least think. The shock of realization that everyone on Earth was dead and agony of not knowing anything had been bad enough. But the sudden and unexpected discovery that some- including his parents- were still alive and the actual numbers of survivors and deaths just might have been worse. 

As he buried his face into his pillow, he pulled his body even closer, as if it could do some kind of good. But, all the while he lay there, not a single of many tears fell. All the time he spent replaying memories, both bad and good, not one escaped and streamed down his cheeks. 

A knocking at the door brought him out of his numbness. "Who is it?" he called, careful of letting his emotions fill his voice. 

"Just me, kid," he heard his father's voice say. "Can I come in?" 

He didn't know what to say. He didn't know which father it was, his real or more foster. And, for some reason, he was finding that he wanted it to be Jack and not as much his father. After wiping his tear-filled eyes on his sleeve and sat up, he called out a weak 'come in'. 

The door opened with a muffled squeak to reveal the distinct figure that belonged to his father. For a minute, he looked over the man's body, not knowing which it was. The look in his eyes and the light scar on his eyebrow told him that it was, in fact, Jack and not his real father. 

"Hey, how're you doin'?" He asked, a sympathetic pity filling his voice. 

"Fine." When it was evident that Jack didn't believe him, he added a, "Really. I'm fine."

"Ok, ok. If you say so. What did they ask?" His foster father asked, plopping himself down on the end of the bed. 

Jesse's eyes found a loose thread on the bed comforter and rested his eyes there. He couldn't meet Jack's eyes, he couldn't see whatever emotion would be there when he told him. "They want me to go back with them. That's why they came."

Jack tried to nod but his muscles had frozen with the news. The best he could get out and keep neutral was a simple, "What did you say?"

It took a long time before Jesse answered, or at least it seemed like that. The calmness of Jack's voice lead Jesse to believe he didn't care and, for some reason, it hurt. If he would have looked and watched his expression, he would have known that Jack felt the opposite. 

"Nothing," was his long awaited answer. 

"Nothing?" Jack repeated, confusion in his voice. 

"I don't know where I want to go anymore," Jesse explained. "Three weeks ago, I would have returned without second thought. But now… now I couldn't tell you. I've gotten so used to being here, with you and Sam."

Jack looked at his face. Only a month ago it was that of a boy. A young, innocent, inexperienced boy. But now, now he looked into his face and saw a man. A man who had seen and felt a lot of pain and suffering. One who had been through a lot and thought of things so differently from that of only weeks ago. Days that seemed so far in the past. But they weren't and they both knew it. 

"I can't tell you where to go. The best advice I can give is that… they're your parents. They're the ones who raised and they love you. They showed that by sending you somewhere where you'd be safe," Jack told him. Bringing his index finger and thumb under his chin, he forced Jesse to look at him. With a faint smile he said, "I think you should go with them, but you don't have to if that's not what you want."

Looking long and hard into Jack's eyes for any form of deception, the long held back tears started to stream down his checks. He couldn't hold them back, nor did he want to. Silent sobs began to over take his body and, before he knew it, Jack's strong arms were around him, protecting him, soothing him.

**SGC, Sam's Lab**

"Interesting," came a distracted voice at the door of Sam's lab. The voice startled her, making her stop working and look almost instantly. Seeing herself, for a second, caused her panicked mind to have to double think everything until she came to the conclusion it was Samantha and not a delusion. 

"What's interesting?" She asked as her double began to invite herself in. Sam had to practice great restraint in order to keep from glaring at her. 

"Just that our labs are the exact same room… and we even do the same thing to keep our minds off of everything," she answered, her eyes focusing on the naquadah reactor Sam had been studying. 

"Really?"

Samantha recognized the distrust in her voice. She knew that, in her place, it would be hard to resist hating or, at least, being wary of herself. "I know this must be hard, even confusing to you but-"

"Actually it's not. We've had a few experiences with the mirror before… I've met one of my counterparts before. The theory of multiple realities isn't very confusing in the least," Sam told her, finally able to hold Samantha's haggard but firm gaze. 

"I see." Samantha wanted to say a lot more, but refrained. She knew that it wasn't wise to speak about things she wasn't certain of. Things she only knew had happened in her reality and, most likely, not this one. She knew they were rather new at 'gate travel, there was no telling what they hadn't begun to see. 

Once it was evident to Sam that she wasn't going to continue, she picked up her tools and began fiddling with the naquadah generator. For a time, Samantha just watched. They had gotten a hold of a generator or two, but not like the one Sam had. 

After ten minutes of just watching and working, Samantha decided to ask something that had been bugging her. Looking at her collar, she noted the leaves; she was a Major. "Uh, Major."

"Yes," Sam responded, looking up at herself, she didn't want a repeat of two months ago- shocking herself when she had tried focusing on Jack talking and the generator. 

"With both you and Jack in the Air Force… you're not…" She trailed off, leaving the known end hanging. 

"No," Sam replied with a shake of her head. "We can't."

"Yes, I know. Actually that was half the reason why I quit," Samantha informed her as she began to wonder the room. 

"You were in the Air Force? Jesse told me that you weren't."

"He doesn't know that I was. I was only in it for a few years. That's how I met Jack, we were given the same assignment then the Stargate Program afterward. I resigned my commission and signed on as a civilian scientist with field ability," she explained. 

The wheels in Sam's mind could almost be seen in her eyes as she quickly tried to absorb what she had been told. It seemed an interesting proposition to solve a problem that had begun but… was she ready to risk it all: her heart and career?

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

But Samantha just smiled and simply answered, "Just making small talk." Sam nodded and tried to start working again. But was soon interrupted by her double when she started talking again. 

"What's your Jack like?"

"A lot like you," Sam answered before thinking. But then quickly made up for it by finishing with more sarcasm. "He likes to talk to me endlessly as I try to work. Therefore I never get anything done with him around."

Samantha smiled and said, "My Jack does that a lot. Only sometimes it's talk… other times… well you know." Sam couldn't help but laugh with her double. No matter how strange it was to laugh about that or think about Jack in that way, it wasn't her and Jack, well it was… but it wasn't. Whatever.  

"According to Jesse, the Jacks and us have a lot more similarities than that."

"Well Jesse's a smart boy. Very observant too. If he said that than I'd have to believe him." After a pause, she added, "He has so much potential, I'd hate to bring him to a world that would take away from him. If he even chooses to go, that is."

Sam, trying to ignore what had just been implied, reassured her, "But you wouldn't be. You'd be taking him to his reality, where he belongs. He's bright and quick, if he wants to learn he'll find a way to do that."

"I'm sure he will."

**SGC, Base Quarters**

"Do you think he'll come with us?" Samantha asked her husband as she lay, uncomfortably, on the base bed. 

Pacing back and forth throughout the room, Jack stopped and plopped down on the end of the bed. "I don't know. I really don't know. The Jesse I knew was so different from the one I saw today. He may not be ready… he might not want to. I just don't know what to make of him any more."

His wife nodded. Her eyes looked over his worried features. Lines of age, stress, and worry could be found. His eyes covered with grief and sorrow- both from those he lost and those he was forced to kill. He lost much: he lost friends, his home, and his son. Just as he had killed many: Jaffa, Gou'ald, those on Earth, and his son. The son he knew, that is. 

A knock at the door made the couple jump. But, though startled, Samantha rose and opened the door, unsure as to whom it was. But, when she saw, it startled her just that much more. There stood her fourteen-year-old son. The son she had been forced to send away and now feared that his anger was directed at her for that choice. 

"I didn't mean to disturb you but, I was wondering, could I talk to you?" His voice was unsure- weary of the two. 

"Of course," his mother said, ushering him into the room and offering him a seat. 

Upon seating himself, Jesse looked at his mother. His eyes wanted to fill with tears and hug her senseless. But the control and walls he had built up stopped the impulses and allowed him to remember the words he needed to ask his question. 

"What did you want to know?"

"Why? Why so long? You must have been safe in the Gamma Cite for days now but you never came to get me," Jesse started. 

"I know. But there was a lot to do," Jack started. "We had to set up the camp- no one had been there in weeks. We had to secure the 'gate. Get everyone settled. Getting the mirror out of storage was one of the last things we could do." 

Then Samantha picked up with, "We wanted to come sooner but couldn't. Unfortunately there were a lot of things that took precedence over you. Besides, you were better off here." 

Without an acknowledgment of their words, he continued, "Why didn't you tell me about the virus?"

Sam and Jack looked at each other, not sure how to respond to his question. When Sam looked back at his expectant yet tight and unyielding face, she told him, "We didn't know how to tell you when you were so young. Then, after being away from the SGC for so long, we didn't feel a need to tell you."

Though sound in its reason, that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. But, then again, he didn't know what he wanted to hear. Perhaps that was the best thing to believe- that that was the true reason they didn't tell him. But his mind wasn't thinking like that. In reality, it didn't know what it was thinking. 

Moving right past the newest answer, he asked his next question. "Why even bother bringing the mirror with you? It's not like I was foremost on your minds at the time." The anger and venom in his mind tried to reach the words but the love in his heart kept the emotions from showing. 

"That's not true," Samantha assured him, putting a tender hand on his knee. Her voice was kind and sincere but nothing but the words seemed to reach Jesse's ears through his uncertain haze. "I thought of you every second. Prayed that you were all right. That you had found us in this reality. That they were taking care of you."

"We wanted you back, to be there with us but we knew that you were better off in this reality."

"But why bring it?" He insisted, his stone eyes meeting Jack's. He wanted facts at the moment, not his parents' empathy. He wanted to know everything as much as he wanted to hug and kiss them. 

Jack sighed, seeing the determination in his new son's eyes. Nodding, he said, "For the past few months, actual 'gate travel had been limited- exploration was temporarily stopped. We decided to try an alternate choice: the quantum mirror. We hadn't studied it much before.

"We had a lot of research with it, we'd even obtained technology from some realities. Certain people were trained to go through and scout out the areas. They'd go and get the basic idea of what was going on in each reality. A certain device would be attached to that mirror and ours so that they could get back or we could find them. If the Gou'ald had gotten a hold of this information, of the mirror, who knows what could have happened."

Throughout his explanation, Jesse starred at his father, taking in what he had said and deciding whither or not he was telling the truth. After all he had discovered about his past that his parents had never told him, he was beginning to wonder what else they had left out. Not to mention what he could believe from them anymore. 

But, through all his distrust, he asked questions and listened to the answers. Took in what was said and how they said it. And, after almost an hour, he had asked the foremost questions on his mind. The ones that had bugged him since the beginning or that had formed throughout the month long adventure. 

"Thanks, for the answers," Jesse said, slowly rising and heading for the door. 

"Jesse," his father called, stopping him. "Have… have you decided?"

Jesse turned and looked at him, his eyes impassive. Looking his father in the eye, he said, "I don't know. I want to but I just… I don't know." 

Again, he turned, not seeing the look of torment and pain that shot through his parents though hope still remained. Taking a few steps, he stopped in front of the door. One last question was weighing on his mind ever since they had mentioned that people from Colorado Springs made it through with them. 

He debated with himself for a moment while his parents just watched him patiently. Looking over his shoulder, he settled on asking. "You said that some people from the area made it through the 'gate. Did…"

"She made it, kid. But not her dad," Jack told him, his eyes and voice telling Jesse his mind was reliving something from that day. Jesse knew the look. Ever since he had arrived in this new reality, he had seen it on many, including himself. 

Jesse nodded, twisting him body back to face the door. With a turn of his wrist, the door opened to reveal a dim corridor and three guards. Stepping outside while closing the door behind him, Jesse merely continued to walk down the hall, ignoring the guard that followed a few paces behind him. 

He truly wanted to go. He wanted to see Alyssa- his Alyssa- again. He wanted to be with his real parents. He wanted to help his people. But he didn't know if he wanted to leave Earth, and Sam and Jack, and everyone and everything else. He just didn't know anything anymore.

**Jack's House**

"You've been rather quiet tonight, Jesse," Jack commented after swallowing his last bit of spaghetti. Jesse just shrugged, swirling his food around on his fork. 

"Are you feeling ok?" Sam asked, seeing that he was paler than normal. 

Again he shrugged but gave an answer. "Just thinkin'."

"'Bout what?" Jack knew exactly what that was, he was just waiting for Jesse to admit it.

Instead, he received a shrug and a, "Stuff."

Jack and Sam looked at each other from their sides of the table. Jack's look was all knowing, like he knew what was going on, while Sam was worried though, behind all that, she had a pretty good idea what it was. 

"I think I'll just go to my room," Jesse announced, rising and walking away from the table. 

Once out of earshot and half way up the stairs, Sam asked, "Should we go after him?"

"I don't know. He's still trying to answer his parents' question."

"To go with them?" She guessed but received a positive nod. "It'd probably be for the best if he did."

"That's what I told him… but that, in the end, it was entirely up to him." Sam looked behind her at the way he had left, nodding at Jack at the same time.  

Only minutes later, the sound of bare feet padding down the stairs was heard before Jesse appeared in the doorway to the dining room. Leaning himself against the large frame, he looked out at his two parents with sad eyes. 

They didn't say a word, knowing it might change his mind of whatever he was about to do. Instead, they watched. Watched and waited for him to say or do something. Which he did. 

"I'm going." The hushed, raspy voice hit open ears. No matter how much the two believed it was the right thing, neither was ready to just send him away without second thought. Nor was it that easy to ignore the pained feeling knowing that he truly was leaving on his own accord and choosing to leave them. 

After a long moment of silence, Jack nodded and said, "Did you tell your parents yet?"

"I just did," he told them bluntly before walking away. 

**Colorado Springs Middle School**

"I'll be right out here," Jack told Jesse as he got out of the car. 

Looking out to the large school his imagination kicked into gear without pause. His mind's eyes could just see the building no more than rubble and ruins. Dead everywhere after the ships' weapons had targeted and destroyed the surrounding area. Smoking debris was all that was left of the once happy school. 

Shaking off the mental image, he forced his legs forward. Walking through the doors, he headed for his locker, ready to clear it out. But, before that, his eyes spotted one of the two people he wished to speak to. 

"Hey, Jesse," she said with a smile. 

"Hey," he responded. "Um… I just wanted to say good-bye and that it was nice to get to know you." 

He put out his hand, willing her to accept it. Though Alyssa was confused, she shook it. "Jesse?"

"I'm leaving. Um, moving to a new school," Jesse explained. 

"Will I ever be able to see you?"

"I doubt it." She just nodded. A faint bell was heard over the loud noise in the hall. "You have to go. Good-bye."

"Bye. Try and get back," she told him with a smile. 

He gave a weak smile in return and said, "I'll try." After watching her walk away, his eyes caught the second person he needed to say something to. 

"Shayn! Shayn!" Jesse called as he rushed down the hallway, trying to catch up with Shayn's rushing form. "Wait up," he said, putting a hand out to stop him. 

"What do you want?" He growled. Jesse was taken aback. He knew that Shayn must have been pissed after his remarks and that he had said to forget about him but he hadn't expected the venom he heard in his voice. 

"Look, I just wanted to say that I was sorry. And thanks for everything," Jesse told him without fault, knowing he had to say his words. 

"Why bother telling me this now?" He hissed before maneuvering around his rival. 

"I'm leaving today. I just wanted to say good-bye."

"Never coming back?" Shayn asked with his back to him. 

"This school? Never. Around? I hope." 

If watched closely, anyone could have seen that Shayn's head nodded slightly before he started hustling down the halls. Jesse merely smiled and turned to walk back to clear out his locker. 

**SGC, Storage Closet**

The shimmering glow of the mirror's center cast a faint glint in Jesse's eye as he stared meaninglessly into his true reality he had long ago begun to think of as destroyed or unreachable. He had thought that, perhaps, when he was older he would return to his home. Now that dream seemed short-lived. Pointless in its optimism. 

The dull gray walls beckoned him in. Summoned his attention. The two men standing guard at the door, keeping a watchful eye on the mirror- watching with false indifference of the on-goings in a place they could only imagine. A place they imagined to be paradise; filled with wonder and gold. But perhaps to them, what that reality was like, was a paradise. 

The sound of Jack's voice cut its way through the distracted fog in Jesse's mind. He spoke quietly, thanking Jack and Sam for taking care of Jesse for all the time that he had been there. But, Jesse sensed, there was a strained sound in his voice as if he truly didn't mean the words that came out of his mouth. 

With a nod at the two officers, his father turned to him. With a pat on the shoulder, he moved aside and allowed his mother to hug him. Whispering in his ear, "We'll see you on the other side." Nodding into her shoulder, Jesse let go and watched with mixed feelings as his parents moved through space and time and returned to the one place he no longer felt he understood. 

Through the mirror, he saw his parents turn away from the mirror. At first he cared little about the privacy they seemed to be giving him. But, when he turned to look at those he had thought of as his 'parents', he felt his insides start to quiver inside of him and was immediately thankful for it. 

In front of him stood only Sam and Jack. Earlier he had spent some time in the Infirmary with Janet and bid her farewell before entering the storage room him was now in. Daniel and Teal'c had stopped by while he was in the Infirmary, as did the General and a few others he had befriended at the SGC. 

With a weak smile at his nervous parents, he stepped up to Sam and embraced her tightly. It may not have been very long that he had known them, but it was long enough to feel sadden by the loss of their presence. Parting from her, he gave a soft smile- the one he had inherited from his father- and squeezed her hands. 

Moving on to his father, he was pulled into a short embrace. "Don't forget to visit once in awhile. You can drop by. Just remember I'll always have a spare room in my house." His comment ended with a quick glance in Sam's direction. 

With a hand on his shoulder, Jack gently turned his surrogate son in the direction of the mirror. "You should get goin'. They're waiting," Jack told him, talking about his parents who were looking through the mirror. Patient as they were, they seemed anxious to have him home.

Jesse nodded, the longing to return turning his stomach into knots. The only problem was the completion with his sorrow of leaving. Turning himself against Jack's strong, rough hand, he looked up, into their faces. 

"Maybe I'll see ya around… Mom, Dad. Good-bye… and thanks." The shock of Jesse's words kept the pair from speaking to him before he touched the portal and disappeared to his home. 

Jesse waved at Jack and Sam, giving them a sad smile. Last time a wave had been a signal to lock him out of his home; to shut down the machine. This time it was the same. The machine was deactivated and the link to his home destroyed. But, perhaps when he was older, he would return to his home. A dream that, hopefully, would not be pointless in its optimism.

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Ok, so I had expected to do more with Jesse's parents and everything but… I don't know, didn't seem to work out like that. But I do think that my epilogue will make up for that (I think it's a very good one, if I do say so myself). Please R/R and stay tuned a few more days until I post the end (Wednesday, Thursday maybe).


	18. A Dream Pointless in its Optimism

Author's Note: This one's short but a nice little ending to kind of tie up lose ends, in my weird little way. It's set twelve years into the future, just so you don't get overly confused. I hope you understand it, my over analyzing of it makes for about five million different ways of looking at it. Please R/R and enjoy. 

Summary: Twelve years after Jesse returned home, what changed in the reality he called home for almost a month?

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Epilogue:

A Dream Pointless in its Optimism

**Twelve Years Later, Location: Unknown**

In an old storage room filled with dust and cobwebs, an old and forgotten machine was leaning against the dark wall. Unknown by anyone, a tiny red light began to blink. Seconds later, the machine activated itself. In the blink of an eye, a man- one that had not been there moments before- appeared in front of the ancient device. 

The twenty-six year old looked about himself, coughing from the dust he unsettled by his sudden arrival. Pushing aside the many cobwebs that blocked his view, he turned and deactivated the device without wasting any time. Everything was different, he couldn't be sure what other details would be as well. No one could be allowed to know that he was there. 

With outstretched arms, he pushed and swatted at the many tiny threads that found themselves in his face. Finding the handle of the door, he gingerly turned it. Immediately, he felt the artificial light shinning on his freshly clean and shaven face. 

Running a hand through his long dirty blonde hair, he walked easily through the many halls of the building until he made it to the exit. He walked as though no one saw him. As though his tall, well-built body was invisible to the naked eye. A small machine in his coat would agree. Walking down the sidewalk he received not a single look, for none of them saw the man. 

Turning through a maze of streets, he found what he wanted: the Stargate. Years ago, as he remembered it, few knew of its existence. It seemed that, now, it was a popular choice of travel. But the flyers he had seen around spoke of a ceremony he wanted to attend. 

Through the masses of people, he could see six familiar faces standing on a podium. According to the announcer, it was General George Hammond, retired, General Jonathan O'Neill, retired, Colonel Samantha Carter-O'Neill, Lieutenant Colonel Janet Fraser, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. Hearing what the Major's new name was brought a smile to his lips- who would have guessed? 

The words seemed to matter very little to the man, he only really took in the content. It seemed the 10th anniversary of the Gou'ald's demise was a major event. Everyone in the state of Colorado and many other places (including planets) seemed to have attended it. 

Like a beautiful face he hadn't thought he'd ever see again. A young woman with golden blonde hair and a majestic smile. Her eyes sparkled as she showed off something to her friends: an engagement ring glinting on her finger. 

Next to her came a man of similar age to the two. He wore an Air Force Lieutenant's uniform, fitting well to his broad and masculine body. He smiled as he bent and kissed her. Just another long-forgotten face to the man. With a dejected movement, he looked down at his left hand. A single tear spilled down the side of his face when he saw the gold band. It only brought back memories of time that were happier yet more tragic than they ever should have been. 

Peering through the crowd, his eyes caught sight of a man he knew to be long dead. But the balding man stood there, watching his daughter with both pride and joy. A hint of sorrow was hidden behind his pleasant mood as long forgotten memories rose to the surface. Only the child perched on his knees seemed to hid that from everyone else. The young boy of six or so clapped and smiled as he watched with his blue eyes. The man smiled as he pointed out the boy's parents and messed up his short, blonde hair. 

With a sigh, the man turned and made his way through the large gathering of people. Maneuvering around everyone, he made his way through the crowded streets and back to his starting point. 

The movement of the creaky door unsettled the dust, getting it in his tear filed eyes and dry throat. With a simple push of a button on his hidden machine, the ancient device was active yet again. Touching the center, he returned to a world rebuilding itself after years of fighting; one that was missing so many good people he had just seen. 

~ The End ~

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Well, the end. All over. Nothing more to read. What a shame, I was just starting to like this story. Oh well. But, you never know… I just might pull a sequel out of my sleeves…

……………………….

………….. Naw, I don't think so. Maybe…. maybe not. I don't know. Quite doubtful. 

Anyway, thanks to all who read and reviewed. I appreciate it a lot. It shows to me that I really do know how to write and that all of this isn't just one of my many delusions. Thank-you, again. 

Also, keep an eye out for some of my currently in the works stories. I have one about the Stargate (S/J) that should hopefully prove interesting. Mostly it's about Jack getting amnesia, Sam helping out, and so one. I have a Pretender one that might not be coming out for a while. Very complicated but, for the most part, Jarod and Parker uncover all these secrets while the main, important people are being picked off and someone very important dies (won't say who. This one's definably a MPJ. Then that brings us to my new Enterprise story. This one, as well, might be in the works for a bit. But it's about a Vulcan Enterprise picks up in the Expanse (fishy, hmm?) and then, suddenly, he's a member of the crew. You know, one of those things. 

Ok, ok, so I'm leaving now. Ending this. Completely this story. Leaving you guys alone for now. Ok, Good-Bye and thank you, thank you, thank you! 


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